"An Investigation into Barriers Preventing Access to Health Insurance i" by Robert D. Tickner IV
 

Honors Theses

Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2025

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Public Policy Leadership

First Advisor

Melissa Bass

Second Advisor

Dominic Novelli

Third Advisor

Jennifer Parsons

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

As Mississippians continue to be one of the unhealthiest populations in the U.S. and the rate at which they are able to access health insurance remains low, it becomes more important than ever to understand what barriers are preventing them from gaining access to health insurance. This thesis will specifically explore what barriers are preventing access to health insurance in Mississippi, identify common factors that are preventing this access, and recommend policy solutions based on the results. To gain a better understanding of barriers preventing access to health insurance in Mississippi, I interviewed six healthcare professionals who work in Mississippi. From these interviews I found five themes: administrative barriers, low health literacy and educational barriers, provider shortages and workforce distribution, inadequate coverage, and chronic disease burden. I used research from these six interviews, background research, and my literature review to develop three policy recommendations: Expand Medicaid coverage in Mississippi, increase investments in rural healthcare infrastructure, and develop statewide health literacy and public health education programs. Adopting these three policies would begin the long process of tearing down the barriers that currently exist to prevent Mississippians from accessing health insurance.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.