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Why Uninsured Free Clinic Patients Don't Apply for Affordable Care Act Health Insurance in a Non-expanding Medicaid State.
- Source :
-
Journal of community health [J Community Health] 2016 Feb; Vol. 41 (1), pp. 119-26. - Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Even after the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), uninsured visits remain high, especially in states that opted out of Medicaid expansion. Since the ACA does not provide universal coverage, free clinics serve as safety nets for the un- or under-insured, and will likely continue serving underserved populations. The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing intentions to not apply for health insurance via the ACA among uninsured free clinic patients in a state not expanding Medicaid. Uninsured primary care patients utilizing a free clinic (N = 551) completed a self-administered survey in May and June 2015. Difficulty obtaining information, lack of instruction to apply, and cost, are major factors influencing intention not to apply for health insurance through the ACA. US born English speakers, non-US born English speakers, and Spanish speakers reported different kinds of perceived barriers to applying for health insurance through the ACA. Age is an important factor impacting individuals' intentions not to apply for health insurance through the ACA, as older patients in particular need assistance to obtain relevant information about the ACA and other resources. A number of unchangeable factors limit the free clinics' ability to promote enrollment of health insurance through the ACA. Yet free clinics could be able to provide some educational programs or the information of resources to patients. In particular, non-US born English speakers, Spanish speakers, and older adults need specific assistance to better understand health insurance options available to them.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Age Factors
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Female
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Male
Medicaid statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act economics
Primary Health Care
Socioeconomic Factors
United States
Insurance Coverage statistics & numerical data
Insurance, Health statistics & numerical data
Medically Uninsured statistics & numerical data
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act statistics & numerical data
Safety-net Providers statistics & numerical data
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1573-3610
- Volume :
- 41
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of community health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 26275880
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0076-3