TY - JOUR
T1 - Early Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Health Care Access, Risky Health Behaviors, and Self-Assessed Health
AU - Courtemanche, Charles
AU - Marton, James
AU - Ukert, Benjamin
AU - Yelowitz, Aaron
AU - Zapata, Daniela
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 by the Southern Economic Association
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - The goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to achieve nearly universal health insurance coverage through a combination of mandates, subsidies, marketplaces, and Medicaid expansions, most of which took effect in 2014. We use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to examine the impacts of the ACA on health care access, risky health behaviors, and self-assessed health after two years. We estimate difference-in-difference-in-differences models that exploit variation in treatment intensity from state participation in the Medicaid expansion and pre-ACA uninsured rates. Results suggest that the ACA led to sizeable improvements in access to health care in both Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states, with the gains being larger in expansion states along some dimensions. However, we do not find clear effects on risky behaviors or self-assessed health.
AB - The goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to achieve nearly universal health insurance coverage through a combination of mandates, subsidies, marketplaces, and Medicaid expansions, most of which took effect in 2014. We use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to examine the impacts of the ACA on health care access, risky health behaviors, and self-assessed health after two years. We estimate difference-in-difference-in-differences models that exploit variation in treatment intensity from state participation in the Medicaid expansion and pre-ACA uninsured rates. Results suggest that the ACA led to sizeable improvements in access to health care in both Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states, with the gains being larger in expansion states along some dimensions. However, we do not find clear effects on risky behaviors or self-assessed health.
KW - I12
KW - I13
KW - I18
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85040460517&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1002/soej.12245
DO - 10.1002/soej.12245
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85040460517
SN - 0038-4038
VL - 84
SP - 660
EP - 691
JO - Southern Economic Journal
JF - Southern Economic Journal
IS - 3
ER -