Catastrophic Health Expenditures Across Insurance Types and Incomes Before and After the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | Health Care Reform | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Catastrophic Health Expenditures Across Insurance Types and Incomes Before and After the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | Health Care Reform | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

ACA may have helped offer more financial protection against major medical expenses

More than 2 million fewer people had "catastrophic" medical expenditures yearly following the passage of the ACA in 2010, according to a new study. The WHO defines such medical expenditures as those where people are forced to spend more than 40% of their income on health costs after accounting for subsistence items like food and housing. Nearly 14 million people experienced catastrophic medical expenses yearly in 2010, but that figure was around 11 million in 2017. Those with the lowest incomes during this time period experienced a decrease in the likelihood of such expenses, while those with private insurance made up a slightly higher proportion of adults with catastrophic medical expenses in 2017 than in 2010.