Brief Veterans and Their Family Members Gain Coverage under the ACA, but Opportunities for More Progress Remain
Jennifer M. Haley, Jason Gates, Matthew Buettgens, Genevieve M. Kenney
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Using the 2011–15 National Health Interview Survey and 2013–14 American Community Survey, we find that uninsurance among nonelderly veterans fell during the early years of implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), with associated improvements in access to care. Veterans’ uninsurance declined between 2013 and 2014 in 9 of the 10 states examined, and uninsurance also fell among veterans’ family members. Declines were larger in states expanding Medicaid under the ACA than in nonexpansion states. A projected 604,000 veterans will be uninsured in 2017, 54 percent living in nonexpansion states, with 124,000 falling into the “assistance gap."
Research Areas Health and health care
Policy Centers Health Policy Center