We performed a secondary analysis of the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) social experiment to investigate the impact of different types of housing assistance and neighborhood environments on long-term patterns of healthcare use for specific conditions and across different types of healthcare services. MTO participants, who were randomized at baseline, were linked to up to 21 years’ worth of all-payer hospital discharge and Medicaid data. Among the 9,170 children at the time of randomization, those who received a voucher had subsequent hospital admissions rates that were 36% lower for asthma and 30% lower for mental health disorders compared with the control group; rates of psychiatric services, outpatient hospital services, clinic services, and durable medical equipment were also lower among the voucher groups.

Using the Moving to Opportunity Experiment to Investigate the Long-Term Impact of Neighborhoods on Healthcare Use by Specific Clinical Conditions and Type of Service, Craig Evan Pollack, Debra G. Bozzi, Amanda L. Blackford, Stefanie DeLuca, Rachel L. J. Thornton & Bradley Herring, Published online 10 Sep 2021, available here