What Americans Think of the New Insurance Marketplaces and Medicaid Expansion: Findings from the Commonwealth Fund Health Insurance Marketplace Survey, 2013
September 30, 2013
Authors
Sara R. Collins, Petra W. Rasmussen, Michelle M. Doty, Tracy Garber
Citation
S. R. Collins, P. W. Rasmussen, M. M. Doty, and T. Garber, What Americans Think of the New Insurance Marketplaces and Medicaid Expansion, The Commonwealth Fund, September 2013.
Overview
The Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces are opening for enrollment on October 1, 2013. The Commonwealth Fund Health Insurance Marketplace
Survey, 2013, finds that only two of five adults are aware of the marketplaces or of potential financial help that may be available to them to pay for plans purchased though the marketplaces. However, three of five adults who might be eligible for these new options said they were likely to take advantage of them. The survey also finds broad support for state expansion of the Medicaid program, even in states that have not yet decided to expand their programs. While outreach and education are critical to ensuring that those eligible for the new coverage options will enroll, the survey results suggest that eligible Americans will likely take advantage of the law’s insurance reforms in the months and years to come.
