A Final Look: California's Previously Uninsured after the ACA's Third Open Enrollment Period

Introduction
  1. Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of 2013 ASEC Supplement to the Current Population Survey.

    ← Return to text

  2. Kaiser Family Foundation, California’s Uninsured On The Eve Of ACA Open Enrollment, September 2013, https://www.kff.org/health-reform/report/californias-uninsured-on-the-eve-of-aca-open-enrollment/.

    ← Return to text

  3. Kaiser Family Foundation, Where Are California’s Uninsured Now? Wave 2 Of The Kaiser Family Foundation California Longitudinal Panel Survey, July 2014, https://www.kff.org/health-reform/report/where-are-californias-uninsured-now-wave-2-of-the-kaiser-family-foundation-california-longitudinal-panel-survey/.

    ← Return to text

  4. Kaiser Family Foundation, California’s Previously Uninsured After The ACA’s Second Open Enrollment Period, July 2015, https://www.kff.org/health-reform/report/californias-previously-uninsured-after-the-acas-second-open-enrollment-period/.

    ← Return to text

Section 1: Coverage among the Previously Uninsured
  1. For the purposes of this report, the ‘eligible uninsured’ are California residents who said they had been uninsured for at least two months in the baseline survey and would be eligible for participation in the ACA coverage expansion based on their self-reported status as a citizen, permanent resident, or lawfully present immigrant. See the “About The Terms In This Report” Section for more details.

    ← Return to text

  2. See the “About The Terms In This Report” Section for more details.

    ← Return to text

  3. The total share with non-group coverage, including those in Covered California, remained stable in the past three waves.

    ← Return to text

  4. It is important to note that among individuals with health insurance through Covered California, the most common reason for changing health insurance plans was that they found a plan with a lower monthly premium, however, the number of individuals in this group is too small to report.

    ← Return to text

  5. The analysis of the dynamics of health insurance includes those who were unable to be contacted in spring 2014 or spring 2015. For instances of missing data from the most recent survey, their previous insurance status is reported. The only criteria for being included in this group is completing either Wave 2 or Wave 3 and completing both Wave 1 and Wave 4 surveys.

    ← Return to text

  6. As previously mentioned, the analysis of the dynamics of health insurance includes those who were unable to be contacted in spring 2014 or spring 2015. For instances of missing data from the most recent survey, their previous insurance status is reported. The only criteria for being included in this group is either reporting being uninsured in Wave 2, not completing Wave 3, and reporting being insured in Wave 4; or not completing Wave 2, reporting being uninsured in Wave 3, and reporting being insured in Wave 4.

    ← Return to text

Section 3: The Remaining Uninsured
  1. See the “About The Terms In This Report” Section for more details.

    ← Return to text

  2. US Census Bureau, California State & County QuickFacts http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html

    ← Return to text

Methodology
  1. Those who had been uninsured for less than two months were excluded from the survey since they may be experiencing a short period of uninsurance (i.e. someone who is between jobs), and the goal of the survey was to capture the experiences and views of those who have been without insurance for a longer period of time and are poised to experience the new coverage provisions of the ACA.

    ← Return to text

  2. M. Brodie, “Sensitization Effects in a Study of the Impact of a Nationally Broadcast Special on Health Care Reform,” in Doctoral Thesis: Political Institutions, Participation, and Media Evaluations— Influences on Health Care Policy (Boston, Mass.: Harvard University, 1995).

    ← Return to text

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.