A Tale of Two Programs? Stigma and Administrative Burdens in CHIP and Medicaid

ABSTRACT One contributing factor to undersubscriptions is administrative burdens. To explore whether program stigma affects attitudes about administrative burdens, a survey ( N = 2204) was fielded to assess differences in attitudes about seven policies decreasing administrative burdens and two policies increasing administrative burdens. The survey contained an experiment that assigned respondents to either questions about the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid. Most burden reductions were supported by a majority of respondents while attitudes about premiums and co‐payments were mixed. Only limited differences were identified between CHIP and Medicaid across all respondents and various important subgroups. Moreover, analyses found consistent differences across respondents within each program based on ideology, racial resentment, and program connection. However, the latter played a more limited role in CHIP. Given the limited findings here, policymakers may consider seeking efficiency gains by fully integrating Medicaid and CHIP programs in the future.