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Study Estimates Eligibility for Affordable Care Act Coverage Among Uninsured

Open enrollment for the 2016 Marketplace nears on November. 1.

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Researchers say, also, that of the nearly 1.8 million uninsured Californians who don’t qualify for either program, more than half – 922,000 – are ineligible due to their immigration status.

Florida Covering Kids and Families, based at the University of South Florida in Tampa, has led the statewide enrollment effort to enroll an uninsured population that peaked at 3.9 million in 2013.

“So, whether it’s a perception of affordability or actual unaffordability, we can’t quite tell”, Garfield said.

But, she said, “it looks like of those still eligible for assistance, majority are Medicaid-eligible”.

Citizens making at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level – or $27,724 for a family or three – are now eligible for Medicaid coverage.

· Could enroll in an employer-sponsored plan but have not, 417,000 (15%). But they don’t earn enough to qualify for the marketplace tax credits – this year, at least $19,790 for a family of three.

When the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010, it created an income-tax penalty for Americans who could afford a health plan, but choose to not obtain one. Thousands of people living in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, such as Texas and Florida, are estimated to be eligible for the program but don’t have coverage.

Kaiser’s findings come as the five Democrat presidential contenders barely mentioned health reform at the first Democrat presidential debate in Las Vegas, even though all five supported it. On Tuesday, GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush unveiled his healthcare reform plan, vowing to abolish and replace the Affordable Care Act to “stop the damage Washington central planners have caused for decades”.

Under the ACA, people earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level, which comes out to $33,465 for a family of four, can shop for health insurance on state and federal marketplaces, and part of their monthly premium could be subsidized through tax credits.

It added that “30 states and D.C. had expanded Medicaid eligibility” under health reform after the Supreme Court ruled in June 2012 that Medicaid expansion was optional for the states. Texas has the most people in the coverage gap with 766,000, followed by Florida with 567,000 people, Georgia with 305,000 people and North Carolina with 244,000 people. Those who are Medicaid eligible include people who were previously eligible as well as those newly eligible under the PPACA.

Among the factors keeping the uninsured from seeking health coverage, the study cites confusion surrounding how one qualifies for assistance and misperceptions about the cost of insurance. But experts broadly acknowledge that the remaining uninsured are the hardest population to reach, since they have resisted buying coverage or are unaware of the opportunity to buy it over the two enrollment periods.

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Bevin has said he would roll back the Medicaid expansion if elected.

A computer is ready at Miami's Sunshine Life and Health Advisors to help people purchase insurance under the Affordable Care Act in 2013. This year about 825,000 Floridians will be eligible for tax credits under the health care law according to a study