Working Paper: NBER ID: w25932
Authors: Jonathan Gruber; Benjamin D. Sommers
Abstract: As we approach the tenth anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, it is important to reflect on what has been learned about the impacts of this major reform. In this paper we review the literature on the impacts of the ACA on patients, providers and the economy. We find strong evidence that the ACA’s provisions have increased insurance coverage. There is also a clearly positive effect on access to and consumption of health care, with suggestive but more limited evidence on improved health outcomes. There is no evidence of significant reductions in provider access, changes in labor supply, or increased budgetary pressures on state governments, and the law’s total federal cost through 2018 has been less than predicted. We conclude by describing key policy implications and future areas for research.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: H3; H51; I13; I18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| confounding trends (C22) | indirect effects of ACA on health care utilization (G52) |
| Affordable Care Act (ACA) (G52) | insurance coverage (G52) |
| Medicaid expansion (I18) | insurance coverage (G52) |
| dependent coverage provision (G52) | insurance coverage for young adults (G52) |
| Affordable Care Act (ACA) (G52) | access to health care services (I14) |
| Affordable Care Act (ACA) (G52) | health outcomes (I14) |