The pandemic-era coverage policies, including the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision and the enhanced Marketplace subsidies, continued to impact health coverage in the U. During the pandemic, the coverage expansions put in place by the Affordable Care Act ACA , including Medicaid expansion and subsidized Marketplace coverage, served as a safety net for people who experienced economic and coverage disruptions.
Gains in Medicaid and Marketplace coverage contributed to significant declines in the uninsured rate through Although states began the process of unwinding continuous enrollment in Medicaid in April and resumed disenrolling people from Medicaid, the full effect of Medicaid disenrollments were not felt in In addition, the enhanced Marketplace subsidies, which were extended through , remained in place.
Both these factors contributed to maintaining most of the coverage gains experienced during the pandemic period in This issue brief describes trends in health coverage in , examines the characteristics of the uninsured population ages , and summarizes the access and financial implications of not having coverage.
Using data from the American Community Survey ACS , this analysis examines changes in health coverage from to and compares data for to data for to report on coverage trends during the pandemic and through the start of the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision.
Because of disruptions in data collection during the pandemic, the Census Bureau did not release 1-year ACS estimates in Although coverage rates for the overall population ages held steady in , future changes to Medicaid and Marketplace coverage could have a significant impact on health coverage. Proposals that would alter how Medicaid is financed or that would impose work requirements on certain adults enrolled in the program would likely lead to a loss of Medicaid coverage.
