The uninsured rate among veterans dropped significantly during the first two years after implementation of ACA coverage provisions, according to a new Urban Institute study.
The study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, uses the 2013–2015 American Community Survey fielded by the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as national data from the CDC's 2013–2015 National Health Interview Survey. The study examined data for vertans age 19 to 64.
Here are five study findings.
1. The uninsured rate among veterans fell nearly 40 percent, from 9.6 percent in 2013 to 5.9 percent in 2015.
2. The total number of uninsured veterans fell from 980,000 in 2013 to 552,000 in 2015.
3.Researchers said the uninsured rate also fell among veterans' spouses between 2013 and 2015, from 9.2 percent to 5.5 percent, and among veterans' children, from 4.5 percent to 2.9 percent.
4. In the same time period, the uninsured rate among veterans fell by a statistically significant margin in all but three Medicaid expansion states. For the purposes of the study, Medicaid expansion states included the 29 states, plus the District of Columbia, that expanded Medicaid as of mid-2015.
5. In 2013, the uninsured rate among veterans in the 30 Medicaid expansion areas ranged from 3.9 percent in Massachusetts to 14.8 percent in Arkansas, according to the study. In 2015, that rate was below 10 percent in every Medicaid expansion areas studied.
Read the full study here.