These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Changes in Health Care Access, Behaviors, and Self-reported Health Among Low-income US Adults Through the Fourth Year of the Affordable Care Act.
    Author: Griffith KN, Bor JH.
    Journal: Med Care; 2020 Jun; 58(6):574-578. PubMed ID: 32221101.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Health care access increased for low-income Americans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It is unknown whether these changes in access were associated with improved self-reported health. OBJECTIVE: Determine changes in health care access, health behaviors, and self-reported health among low-income Americans over the first 4 years of the ACA, stratified by state Medicaid expansion status. DESIGN: Interrupted time series and difference-in-differences analysis. SUBJECTS: Noninstitutionalized US adults (18-64 y) in low income households (<138% federal poverty level) interviewed in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2011-2017 (N=505,824). MEASURES: Self-reported insurance coverage, access to a primary care physician, avoided care due to cost; self-reported general health, days of poor physical health, days of poor mental health days, and days when poor health limited usual activities; self-reported health behaviors, use of preventive services, and diagnoses. RESULTS: Despite increases in access, the ACA was not associated with improved physical or general health among low-income adults during the first 4 years of implementation. However, Medicaid expansion was associated with fewer days spent in poor mental health (-1.1 d/mo, 95% confidence interval: -2.1 to -0.5). There were significant changes in specific health behaviors, preventive service use, and diagnosis patterns during the same time period which may mediate the relationship between the ACA rollout and self-reported health. CONCLUSION: In nationally-representative survey data, we observed improvements in mental but not physical self-reported health among low-income Americans after 4 years of full ACA implementation.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]