Health Insurance Coverage and the Affordable Care Act

Since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, several provisions of the ACA have gone into effect at different times. For example, in 2010, the Young Adult Provision enabled adults under age 26 to remain as dependents on their parents’ health insurance plans. Many more of the main provisions went into effect on January 1, 2014, including the expansion of Medicaid eligibility and the establishment of health insurance marketplaces (e.g., healthcare.gov). As described in this report, decreases in the uninsured rates between 2013 and 2014 are consistent with what some provisions of the ACA intended. In 2014, people under age 65,
particularly adults aged 19 to 64 years, may have become eligible for coverage options under the ACA. Based on family income, some people may have qualified for subsidies or tax credits to help pay for premiums associated with health insurance plans. In addition, the population with lower income may have become eligible for Medicaid coverage if they resided in one of the 24 states (or the District of Columbia) that expanded Medicaid eligibility.*