As someone who was poor enough my first year of grad school to qualify for Medicaid in my current state of residence, I can tell you that the process of applying was incredibly slow, byzantine, and frustrating—especially if you had a job, were in school, or had other responsibilities that prevented you from ensuring you were available for the series of midday phone interviews, sometimes scheduled weeks-out, and always scheduled in a vague three-hour range on a particular day. Once I actually had Medicaid, it was great, and easy to use—in fact, everyone should have it!
My experience was similar for the three months when I was furloughed in 2019 due to the non-essential-business shutdown my current state effected, which thus necessitated my applying for UI benefits—it was relatively less slow, at least, but just as byzantine, and that was with expansion and streamlining access due to CoViD.
