Ford School of Public Policy associate dean for research and policy engagement Luke Shaefer discusses research concerning how emergency federal dollars dispersed to the unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic “bolstered health care spending as jobless rate skyrocketed.” Shaefer notes that the negative consequences of unemployment and federal income support were most substantial in states that did not implement Medicaid expansion. The faculty expert highlights the study as well as what it means in regard to universal health care coverage and the “perils of a fragmented and costly health care system.”
