163 – Monitoring the Early Effects of the Affordable Care Act Using National Center for Health Statistics Data
Monitoring Health Care Access and Utilization Following Implementation of the Affordable Care Act Using the National Health Interview Survey
Robin A. Cohen
National Center for Health Statistics
Renee M. Gindi
National Center for Health Statistics
Whitney K. Kirzinger
National Center for Health Statistics
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) introduced changes in health care access, with some provisions implemented in 2010 and 2011. Monitoring the impacts of these changes requires not only establishing baseline information but collecting additional detail on their effects. One source of such information is the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Questions that have been on the NHIS for several years or more can be used to establish baseline estimates and to monitor the impacts of the ACA provisions as they are implemented. Questions added to the NHIS in 2011 provide more detail about topics in health care access and utilization addressed by the legislation. Using NHIS data, we examine four topics of interest: public perception of the financial burden of medical bills; expanded access to health insurance for young adults aged 19-25; reasons for emergency room use among adults; and state-level estimates of health insurance coverage.
