Affordable Care Act Coverage More Likely Among People Uninsured For Shorter Periods

People who were uninsured for one year or less were significantly more likely to sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) compared with people who had been uninsured for longer periods, an AHRQ study concluded. Researchers used AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey responses of nearly 2,000 uninsured people in December 2013 to predict how many were able to get coverage during 2014. They found 55 percent of people who were uninsured for a year or less obtained insurance coverage in 2014 under state Medicaid expansions, from ACA Marketplaces or through private insurance. That compared with 45 percent who obtained insurance after being uninsured for more than a year but fewer than three years, 35 percent who were uninsured three years or longer and 20 percent who never had health insurance. Access the abstract of the study, which was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

2018 May;33(5):593-595. doi: 10.1007/s11606-018-4365-2.