A new study has found that uninsured rates have dropped in every state since the Affordable Care Act fully took effect.
The research, released by The Commonwealth Fund, found that even states that did not expand Medicaid under the ACA experienced a decrease in the number of uninsured residents. Only two states saw a decrease of less than 3 percentage points in the uninsured rate of nonelderly adults between 2013 and 2015, according to the report: Massachusetts, which had the country’s lowest uninsured rate before the ACA took effect, and South Dakota.
States that expanded Medicaid saw the most significant gains, according to the report, with nine states seeing their uninsured rates decrease by 10 to 13 percentage points. By the end of 2015, 17 states and the District of Columbia had uninsured rates below 10%, compared with just two in 2013.
The coverage map of the U.S. changed dramatically after implementation of the ACA's major health insurance reforms https://t.co/kFwb1FfCo9 pic.twitter.com/dREGfyNJh0
— Commonwealth Fund (@commonwealthfnd) December 21, 2016
“The Affordable Care Act’s health insurance coverage expansions are working to get people covered and help them afford healthcare,” Sara Collins, vice president for coverage and access at The Commonwealth Fund and a co-author of the report, said in an announcement of the findings. “We know that health insurance is essential for people to get the care they need. In this time of uncertainty about the ACA, it’s important to keep in mind the financial and health protection health insurance provides for families.”
The ACA has also helped get more children insured, too, according to the report. By the end of 2015, the rate of uninsured children was below 5% in half of U.S. states. By comparison, in 2013, eight states had uninsured rates for children at 10% or higher.
The research team analyzed public data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Earlier this year, The Commonwealth Fund projected that President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to repeal and replace the ACA would leave 20 million Americans uninsured, and an analysis from the Urban Institute predicted that a partial repeal, a possible strategy for Republicans in Congress, could increase the numbers of uninsured people to nearly 60 million.
A repeal of the ACA will also likely hit hospitals and health systems hard financially. A joint report from the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals estimates hospitals stand to lose $165 billion if rollbacks on Medicare and Medicaid payments are reinstated.