In the 4th Kaiser Family Foundation Longitudinal Panel Survey, some impressive findings surround the state of California. The survey polled a randomly selected pool of uninsured adult Californians and tracked their health care journey starting in 2013. Now, three years later, 72% of those who were previously uninsured are now insured.
This news follows three-years into the mission of the ACA to expand coverage throughout the state.
For those eligible for Medi-Cal or self-purchased health care through Covered California, 78% still have insurance from last year’s findings. However, 33% of those previously uninsured and part of low income households obtained their health care through Medi-Cal, with 11% using Covered California, and 21% receiving coverage through their employers. The remaining percentages of those now covered have received their health care through other means.
While other findings include greater financial stability due to affordable health care, there are still those without coverage. 27% of the reference group are still uninsured, with a presumed 10% being those unable to access premium tax credit or cost sharing reduction assistance through Covered California or ineligible for Medi-Cal, which undocumented immigrants. The remaining 17%? Quite possibly those unaware of the ACA expansion laws in the state for health care and simply not accessing what is available to them.
While immigration status is one reason for Californians’ not obtaining health care coverage (for example, undocumented immigrants currently cannot access the premium tax credit or cost sharing reduction assistance through Covered California), cost for many continues to be an issue. Still, a majority of Californians who have worked with the ACA to achieve health care coverage are pleased with their results, marking a major stride for California in its goal to improve the overall health of its residents.
To view the survey’s findings, click here.