ACA's Impact on Health Insurance Gap for Workers

A recent analysis by scholars Katharine G. Abraham and Henry S. Farber examines the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on health insurance coverage disparities between part-time and full-time workers in the U.S. They highlight that part-time workers, representing roughly 30% of the workforce, are generally less likely to receive employer-provided health benefits. The study investigates five specific ACA provisions and their roles in shaping access to health insurance for these two groups.

The authors found that the ACA provision requiring large employers to offer affordable insurance only to full-time workers has widened the coverage gap slightly, while other provisions—such as Medicaid expansion and health insurance marketplaces—have helped reduce this gap. Their analysis of data from the Current Population Survey revealed that Medicaid expansion, in particular, has significantly increased coverage for part-time workers, reducing the insurance coverage disparity.

The study concluded that while full-time employees predominantly obtain insurance through employers, part-time employees often rely on public assistance, dependent coverage, or insurance exchanges. Overall, the research suggests that the ACA has had a positive effect on decreasing the health insurance coverage gap for part-time workers, especially through Medicaid expansion and the establishment of health insurance exchanges.