composition, and health insurance coverage, which makes it the ideal data set for this Issue Brief. News From The Employee Benefit Research Institute The analysis period covers years before and after the implementation of the Medicaid expansion and the Employer Shared Responsibility Mandate, allowing documentation about how these New Research Study Finds Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Has Led to Changes in the policies impacted health plan coverage within families. The health plans documented are group, Composition of Health Insurance Coverage Within Families by Increasing Access to Group, Non- non-group (including Marketplace), Medicaid, Medicare, as well being uninsured. Group and Medicaid Coverage “Increased maternal group policy holding rates can be explained by increased labor force - Study Also Finds Mothers Are More Likely to Be the Provider of Family Group Coverage and participation and an entrance into higher paid occupations. While mothers are more likely to be “Family Glitch” a Barrier to Non-Group Coverage - group policy holders, they still face impediments to non-group coverage due in part to the ‘family glitch’. By basing eligibility for marketplace premium subsidies on the affordability of employee For immediate release: 11/17/22 only coverage, partners of employees are often ineligible for the subsidies,” said Volkov. For more information: Ron Dresner dresner@ebri.org The Issue Brief shows how health insurance coverage patterns differ within four distinct sets of family types: two-parent families with co-resident children ages 0-26; single-mother families with (Washington, D.C.) – A new study published today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute co-resident children ages 0-26; single-father families with co-resident children ages 0-26; and two- (EBRI) documenting how health insurance coverage differs within and across families from 2012-21 adult families without children. The ages of all adults are restricted to 18-64. Each year of the found that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has led to changes in the composition of survey, these four samples represent approximately 64 million, 18.2 million, 3.4 million, and 41.2 health insurance coverage within families. The EBRI Issue Brief, “The Dynamics of Health Insurance million families, respectively. Overall, this sample accounts for 80% of all families across all ages in Within Families: 2012-2021”, also reported that, starting in 2017, mothers are more likely to be the the United States. provider of group coverage for the whole family. To review the complete 26-page “The Dynamics of Health Insurance Within Families: 2012-2021” Key findings in the research analysis included: Issue Brief, visit www.ebri.org/family-health-insurance . • Health plans differ within and across families. Health plans are most similar within two-adult families without children and least similar within single-parent families. The Employee Benefit Research Institute is a non-profit, independent and unbiased resource • The ACA “family glitch” reduces the likelihood that partners are covered by non-group coverage, organization that provides the most authoritative and object information about critical issues especially among families with children. relating employee benefit programs in the United States. For more information, visit www.ebri.org. • Coinciding with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s 2014 Medicaid Expansion and the 2016 Employer Mandate, differences in Medicaid and group coverage within families narrowed. # # • Mothers are more likely to be the provider of group coverage for the whole family and are replacing fathers as the providers of family coverage. On the other hand, group policy-holding rates have been steady for both childless men and women. • Increased rates of group policy-holding rates among mothers can be explained by increased labor force participation and an “upscaling” of jobs. • Women with group coverage are earning more over time, further reflecting entrance into higher paid occupations. “Over 70% of working adults are covered by a group health plan making it the pre-dominant source of health insurance coverage. However, there is still substantial variation in health coverage within and across families in the United States. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act led to changes in the composition of health insurance coverage within families, by increasing access to group, non-group and Medicaid coverage,” said Eden Volkov, Ph.D., research associate, Health, EBRI. The study uses public survey data from the 2013-2022 Annual Socioeconomic Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS ASEC). The ASEC provides yearly data on families, household

New Research Study Finds Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Has Led to Changes in the Composition of Health Insurance Coverage Within Families by Increasing Access to Group, Non-Group and Medicaid Coverage

New Research Study Finds Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Has Led to Changes in the Composition of Health Insurance Coverage Within Families by Increasing Access to Group, Non-Group and Medicaid Coverage

Volume 1318

Pages 2

EBRI Press Release

Nov 17, 2022

Health