Examining the impact of Medicaid expansion on the food-purchasing patterns of low-income households

the foundation's initiative, improving data for obesity research and surveillance, was designed to: (1) create a source of data for obesity surveillance and research using electronic health records and an open-data model; (2) make data available via visualizations and as a public-use file; (3) make a subset of the data available through data-use agreements or, potentially, use a de-identification process; (4) assess and publicly report on the quality of the data as a resource for obesity surveillance and research; and (5) sponsor a call for proposals in collaboration with the u.s. department of agriculture to increase availability of its proprietary data on the purchase of retail food.this study will use usda food-purchase data to address this question: how did medicaid expansion impact the food-purchasing patterns of low-income households? the expansion of medicaid through the affordable care act extended healthcare coverage to millions of people in poverty, potentially freeing up income that could be used to purchase healthier food. by deepening understanding of the trade-offs that low-income households make to meet their basic needs, this work will demonstrate the impact that access to affordable healthcare coverage can have on broader basic needs. those findings could inform the development of government policies and programs meant to improve access to health insurance, reduce food insecurity, and improve diet quality.