Kentucky's Health Care Coverage and Access Rates Reflect ACA's Successes
<p>As the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been debated, questions have been raised about the value of the law’s health insurance coverage expansions. In a new <em>To the Point</em> post drawing on data from the Commonwealth Fund’s just-released <em><a href="/interactives/2017/mar/state-scorecard/">Scorecard on State Health System Performance, 2017</a>, </em>Susan Hayes, Douglas McCarthy, David Radley, and Sara Collins explore whether the ACA improved access to care. </p><p> </p>
<p>The authors examine experiences in Kentucky, a state that expanded Medicaid eligibility and ran its own health insurance marketplace through 2016. They also compare Kentucky to neighboring Tennessee, which chose not to expand Medicaid eligibility and opted for the federally run marketplace. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The researchers find dramatic differences in coverage rates and measures of health care access that underscore the ACA’s positive impact on Kentuckians. </p>
<p> </p>