Payday Loan Volume In California Dropped 11% After The State’s Early Medicaid Expansion In 2012

After California implemented its early Medicaid expansion in certain counties in 2012, the number of payday loans taken out each month declined by 11% compared to loan volume in counties nationwide that did not expand Medicaid. The number of unique borrows declined in the early expansion counties. The amount of payday loan debt also declined.

Payday loans are a form of short-term, high-interest borrowing. In 2012, about 12 million Americans took about at least one payday loan; the average borrower took out eight loans of $375 each, and for each spent $520 in interest.

These findings were reported . . .