ACA reduced out-of-pocket health costs for families with kids, but they still need help

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/uoc--aro092420.php

News Release 28-Sep-2020
University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

The percentage of low- and middle-income families with children that had burdensome out-of-pocket health care costs fell following the 2014 implementation of the health insurance marketplaces and Medicaid expansion provisions of the Affordable Care Act, known widely as Obamacare, according to a new study by Lauren Wisk, an assistant professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and colleagues.

Before the ACA, the study shows, 35.6% of the lowest-income families experienced burdensome costs, but this fell to 23.7% post-ACA. For low-income families, the proportion fell from 24.6% to 17.3%, and for middle-income families, it decreased from 6.1% to 4.6%. The proportion of high-income families with burdensome costs remained relatively stable over time, at 1.1% pre-ACA and 0.9% post-ACA.

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The ACA substantially improved access to insurance, both public and private, and was associated with a large reduction in health care costs and financial burdens for families with children. But low- and middle-income families are still vulnerable to high financial burdens, and more work is needed to reduce the financial strain for these families.