Health Insurance Disparities and the Affordable Care Act: Where Will Inequality Decline?

Carla Medalia, U.S. Census Bureau
Jennifer Cheeseman Day, U.S. Census Bureau

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) seeks to increase access to affordable healthcare for millions of uninsured Americans. Because health insurance coverage varies dramatically by many social and demographic characteristics, the ACA may help to reduce disparities in coverage. Using the 2014 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), we examine health insurance inequalities in 2013 and make predictions as to which disparities may decline as a result of the ACA. To test these hypotheses, we compare coverage in 2013 to coverage in the first four months of 2014, after many of the changes of the ACA went into effect. Finally, we contextualize our findings by examining state differences associated with the ACA, including the status of Medicaid expansion and the type of health insurance marketplace established, whether federally-facilitated, state-based, or a partnership.