A Final Look: California's Previously Uninsured after the ACA's Third Open Enrollment Period
Introduction
Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of 2013 ASEC Supplement to the Current Population Survey.
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/.
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/.
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/.
Section 1: Coverage among the Previously Uninsured
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.
See the “About The Terms In This Report” Section for more details.
The total share with non-group coverage, including those in Covered California, remained stable in the past three waves.
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.
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.
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.
Section 3: The Remaining Uninsured
See the “About The Terms In This Report” Section for more details.
US Census Bureau, California State & County QuickFacts http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html
Methodology
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.
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).