Reasons Why Individuals Remain Uninsured Under the Affordable Care Act: Experiences of Patients at a Student-Run Free Clinic in Michigan, a Medicaid Expansion State

Reasons Why Individuals Remain Uninsured Under the Affordable Care Act Experiences of Patients at a Student-Run Free Clinic in Michigan, a Medicaid Expansion State

Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many people remain uninsured. While studies have examined this population, few have explored patients’ experiences seeking insurance. To elucidate these individuals’ perspectives, we surveyed patients (n = 80) at the University of Michigan Studen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of community health Vol. 41; no. 2; pp. 417 - 423
Main Authors: Desmond, Brian S., Laux, Molly A., Levin, Carolyn C., Huang, Jiaxin, Williams, Brent C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer Science + Business Media 01-04-2016
Springer US
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Barriers
Community and Environmental Psychology
Counties
Eligibility
Ethics
Female
Government programs
Health care expenditures
Health care policy
Health disparities
Health insurance
Health insurance exchanges
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Humans
Insurance Coverage
Insurance, Health
Internal Medicine
Male
Medicaid
Medicaid - legislation & jurisprudence
Medically Uninsured
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Michigan
Middle Aged
ORIGINAL PAPER
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - legislation & jurisprudence
Patients
Primary Health Care
Public Health
Reforms
Student Run Clinic
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tax credits
Taxation
United States
Young Adult
United States > US
Michigan
Health insurance
Cost of healthcare
Tax credits
Eligibility
Health insurance exchanges
Adults
Disparities
State health plan
Medicaid
Michigan
Healthcare reform
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Summary:Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many people remain uninsured. While studies have examined this population, few have explored patients’ experiences seeking insurance. To elucidate these individuals’ perspectives, we surveyed patients (n = 80) at the University of Michigan Student-Run Free Clinic concerning their activity accessing insurance. Over half of respondents had sought insurance in the past 6 months; 57 % of respondents qualified for Medicaid by self-reported income (≤ 138 % FPL) and all but one were eligible for tax credits on the Health Insurance Marketplace. However, only 35 % of apparently Medicaid-eligible respondents had recently applied. There was no significant difference in the rate of applying for those above the income cutoff (p = 0.901). Perceived expense of plans and belief of ineligibility for Medicaid discouraged respondents from actively seeking insurance. Personalized outreach emphasizing new Medicaid eligibility requirements and tax credits may be needed to facilitate Medicaid enrollment for some uninsured persons under the ACA.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0094-5145
1573-3610
DOI:10.1007/s10900-015-0112-3