Full Citation
Title: Opting in to the Medicaid Expansion under the ACA: Who Are the Uninsured Adults Who Could Gain Health Insurance Coverage?
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2012
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Abstract: At present, few states cover non-disabled, non-pregnant parents with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) and even fewer cover such adults without dependent children. With the implementation of the coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid eligibility could increase dramatically for these groups. This analysis suggests that the approximately 15.1 million uninsured adults who could gain coverage under the ACA Medicaid expansion are a diverse group in terms of their age and race/ethnicity. Though over half of this group is under age 35, 35 percent are between the ages of 35 and 54 and over 10 percent are near elderly adults between the ages of 55 and 64. Nationwide, just over half are white, but their racial and ethnic composition varies substantially across states. And while over four in five of these uninsured are adults who are not living with dependent children, 2.7 million are parents living with dependent children. Just over half (53 percent) of the uninsured who could gain coverage under the Medicaid expansion are male, but 4.6 million are women of reproductive age. States are now weighing whether to expand Medicaid under the ACAsome states have expressed concern that expanding Medicaid to more adults may pose fiscal challenges. However, purely monetary calculations ignore the potential human, financial, and productivity benefits associated with improved access to affordable health care for the millions of low-income adults without health insurance coverage and their families.
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Authors: Anderson, Nathaniel; Zuckerman, Stephen; Lynch, Victoria; Huntress, Michael; Kenney, Genevirve M.; Haley, Jennifer; Dubay, Lisa
Publisher: Urban Institute
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Health, Other, Poverty and Welfare
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