Medicaid is one of the largest social welfare programs in the United States. With over 70 million people enrolled, it covers 20 percent of the US population.

Though the program is federal, it’s implemented by the state and some states offer generous benefits while others do not. Professor Jamila Michener argues these disparities are actually having an effect on democratic citizenship. Her research shows that when Medicaid expands, more people vote, and when it contracts (or there’s a narrower scope of benefits) then people are less likely to vote.

Jamila Michener is an assistant professor at Cornell University. Her book is Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2018)

 

• Read the episode transcript
• Music: Vittoro and Thannoid by Blue Dot Sessions / Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution