Full Citation
Title: Workers Gaining Health Insurance Coverage Under the ACA
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2017
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Abstract: Our main findings are as follows: Roughly 9.5 million workers under age 65 gained coverage from 2010 to 2015, along with 5.2 million family members. These 14.7 million Americans make up 77 percent of all those who gained coverage under the first six years of the ACA. Sorting workers by occupation, coverage gains appeared to target need well. Occupations that had lower rates of coverage and employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), lower wages, and lower earnings before the ACA saw greater gains. In occupations where less than 70 percent of workers had health insurance in 2010, the median increase in coverage by 2015 was 13.4 percentage points. In occupations where 70–80 percent of workers had coverage in 2010, the median increase was 9.2 percentage points. Median increases were 6.1 and 2.3 percentage points, respectively, in occupations where 80–90 percent and more than 90 percent of workers had coverage in 2010. Among occupations that paid average hourly wages of less than $15 in 2010, coverage increased at a median rate of 13.9 percentage points. For occupations with hourly wages of $15–20, $20–30, and more than $30, coverage increased by 7.1, 2.6, and 1.7 percentage points, respectively. Among the workers gaining coverage, 6.0 million (63 percent) lived in states that expanded their Medicaid programs under the ACA. The remaining 3.5 million (37 percent) lived in states that did not expand their programs. Coverage gains were larger in expansion states (7.2 percentage points) than nonexpansion states (6.4 percentage points). Hundreds of thousands of workers gained coverage in Florida (770,000) and Texas (915,000), even though neither state chose to expand Medicaid. State coverage expansions appeared well-targeted to need. Among Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states, those with the lowest coverage levels in 2010—such as Florida and Texas-saw the greatest coverage increases among workers and their families.
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Authors: Garrett, Bowen; Gangopadhyaya, Anuj; Dorn, Stan
Publisher: Urban Institute
Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS
Topics: Health, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other
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