For immediate release: Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Boston, MA – The Affordable Care Act’s health coverage expansions have produced major improvements in medical care and health for low-income adults, including reduced out-of-pocket spending, better access to primary care and preventive services, improved self-reported health, and improved care for those with chronic conditions, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The study provides the most up-to-date assessment yet of the ACA. It will be published online May 17, 2017 in Health Affairs.
“With Congress debating major changes to the Affordable Care Act, especially for people on Medicaid and with pre-existing conditions, it’s critical for policymakers to understand what’s at risk. Our study shows that the ACA continues to improve medical care and health among low-income patients and those with chronic illnesses,” said Benjamin Sommers, associate professor of health policy and economics at Harvard Chan School and lead author of the study.
Researchers looked at survey data from low-income adults in three states: Kentucky, which expanded Medicaid under the ACA; Arkansas, which expanded private insurance to low-income adults using the federal marketplace; and Texas, which did not expand coverage.
Prior to the ACA, each of the three states had similar uninsured rates among low-income adults, around 40%. By the end of 2016, the uninsured rate in Kentucky and Arkansas, the two states that expanded coverage, had dropped by more than 20 percentage points relative to Texas—the rate was 7.4% in Kentucky, 11.7% in Arkansas, and 28.2% in Texas.
Among those who gained insurance coverage, there was a 41 percentage-point increase in having a usual source of care, a $337 reduction in annual medical out-of-pocket spending, significant increases in preventive health visits and glucose testing, and a 23 percentage-point increase in “excellent” self-reported health.
People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and asthma also fared better after gaining coverage through Medicaid or the federal marketplace health plans. They reported improvements in affordability of care, regular care for their conditions, medication adherence, and self-reported health.
The authors noted that the improvements in health care have continued to grow over the three years of the ACA’s coverage expansions, and that the improvements occurred whether states expanded Medicaid (as in Kentucky) or private insurance (as in Arkansas), showing that both are effective ways to help lower-income Americans.
Other Harvard Chan School authors of the study included Bethany Maylone, Robert Blendon, E. John Orav, and Arnold Epstein.
Funding for the study came from the Commonwealth Fund and in part from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, grant number K02HS021291.
“Three-Year Impacts of the Affordable Care Act: Improved Medical Care and Health Among Low-Income Adults,” Benjamin D. Sommers, Bethany Maylone, Robert J. Blendon, E. John Orav, Arnold M. Epstein, Health Affairs, June 2017, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0293
For more information:
Todd Datz
tdatz@hsph.harvard.edu
617.432.8413
photo: Flickr.com
Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.
###
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people’s lives—not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America’s oldest professional training program in public health.