magestrada@charlotte.edu

Miguel Antonio Garcia Estrada

Hi! I am Miguel. Welcome to my page.

I am a scholar whose primary interest lies in the intersection of public policy and health behavior and outcomes, and how this relationship impacts health equity. My work explores the consequences of health policies within the context of individual and environmental factors, both in the Philippines and the United States. I focus on issues with significant implications on vulnerable populations, particularly substance use, health insurance, and health taxes. Among the topics I am currently working on are Medicaid managed care, alcohol and opioid use disorders, and smoking and smokefree policies.

I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health and Health Administration in the College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Prior to working at UNCC, I was a researcher and consultant for about a decade in government, academic, and multilateral institutions, including the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (Philippine House of Representatives), Philippine National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization.

Selected Research

Policy design, implementation, and its equity implications are predominant themes of my research. In investigating the public policy-health behavior-health outcomes nexus, I focus on issues with significant implications for vulnerable populations, such as substance use, health insurance, health taxes, and reproductive health.

Here are some of my work.

Medicaid Managed Care Organization (MCO) Plan Coverage and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment

Estrada, M.A.G., Steuart, S., Andrews, C.M., Grogan, C.M., Hinds, O., Lawler, E., Lozano-Rojas, F., Westlake, M., Peterson, L., Wing, C., & Abraham, A.J. (2025). Relationship between Medicaid coverage design and receipt of medication for alcohol use disorder (MAUD): Probability of receipt increases based on comprehensiveness of plan. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 16, 100374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dadr.2025.100374.
Steuart, S.R., Estrada, M.A.G., Andrews, C.M., Grogan, C.M., Hinds, O.M., Lawler, E.C., Peterson, L., Lozano-Rojas, F., Westlake, M.A., Wing, C., & Abraham, A.J. (2025). Medicaid MCO Service Coverage and Diagnosis and Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder: Evidence from Quasi-Random Auto-Assignment in Kentucky. Health Affairs Scholar, 3(7), qxaf119. https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxaf119.

Single State Agency Efforts to Address Opioid Use Disorder

Estrada, M.A.G., Abraham, A.J., Andrews, C.M., & Grogan, C.M. (2024). Statewide efforts to address the opioid epidemic: Results from a national survey of single state agencies. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 160, 209309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2024.209309.

Smoking and Smoking-related Policy

Estrada, M.A.G., Cheng, K.J.G., & Lacaza, R.M. (2025). Smoking knowledge and decision in an era of widespread awareness: Persistent disparities and policy implications. PLoS One 20(8): e0329691. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329691.
Cheng, K.J.G. & Estrada, M.A.G. (2022). A dichotomy of smokers in the Philippines following sin tax reform: Distinguishing potential quitters from those unlikely to quit. PLoS One, 17(10), e0275840. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275840.
Cheng, K.J.G. & Estrada, M.A.G. (2020). Price Elasticity of cigarette smoking demand in the Philippines after the 2012 Sin Tax Reform Act. Preventive Medicine, 134, 106042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106042.

Reproductive Health and Barriers to Healthcare Access

Estrada, M.A.G., Cheng, K.J.G., & Lacaza, R.M. (2024). Legal changes and evidence on unmet need for contraception, Philippines. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 102(11):778–785. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.23.290577.

Teaching

Co-Instructor, Department of Public Administration & Policy, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Course: PADP 8640. Program Evaluation

Instructor, University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, Quezon City Philippines

Course: Health Economics & Policy

Guest Lecturer, Department of Public Administration & Policy, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Courses (topic): PADP 8670. Policy Analysis I (Uncertainty in Choice and Policy Formation); PADP 7110. Research Methods (Non-experimental Design)

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