The coverage gap: uninsured poor adults in states that do not expand Medicaid The coverage gap: uninsured poor adults in states that do not expand Medicaid

Collection: Health Policy and Services Research Series Title(s): Issue brief (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation) Author(s): Garfield, author Damico, Anthony, author Orgera, Kendal, author Contributor(s): Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, issuing body. Publication: San Francisco, CA : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, June 2018 Language(s): English Format: Text Subject(s): Health Care Reform Insurance Coverage -- statistics & numerical data Medicaid -- statistics & numerical data United States United States. Genre(s): Technical Report Abstract: While millions of people have gained coverage through the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), state decisions not to implement the expansion leave many without an affordable coverage option. Under the ACA, Medicaid eligibility is extended to nearly all low-income individuals with incomes at or below 138 percent of poverty ($28,676 for a family of three in 20181). This expansion fills in historical gaps in Medicaid eligibility for adults and was envisioned as the vehicle for extending insurance coverage to low-income individuals, with premium tax credits for Marketplace coverage serving as the vehicle for covering people with moderate incomes. While the Medicaid expansion was intended to be national, the June 2012 Supreme Court ruling essentially made it optional for states. As of June 2018, 17 states had not expanded their programs. Medicaid eligibility for adults in states that did not expand their programs is quite limited: the median income limit for parents in these states is just 43% of poverty, or an annual income of $8,935 a year for a family of three in 2018, and in nearly all states not expanding, childless adults remain ineligible. Further, because the ACA envisioned low-income people receiving coverage through Medicaid, it does not provide financial assistance to people below poverty for other coverage options. As a result, in states that do not expand Medicaid, many adults fall into a "coverage gap" of having incomes above Medicaid eligibility limits but below the lower limit for Marketplace premium tax credits (Figure 1). This brief presents estimates of the number of people in non-expansion states who could have been reached by Medicaid but instead fall into the coverage gap, describes who they are, and discusses the implications of them being left out of ACA coverage expansions. Copyright: Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information) Extent: 1 online resource (1 PDF file (12 pages)) Illustrations: Illustrations NLM Unique ID: 101740265 (See catalog record) Permanent Link: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101740265