This analysis uses annual data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to track changes in insurance coverage, health care access, and health service utilization among working-age adults with disabilities, and compare these measures to those of non-disabled adults.
The study shows that after passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the number of adults with disabilities who had private health insurance rose slightly, from about 33.9% in 2013 to 36.6% by 2015. However, in 2015, adults with disabilities were still over four times more likely to receive public insurance (54.7%) than those without disabilities (12.5%). The data also shows that adults with disabilities are more likely to delay or not receive medical care due to cost as compared to adults without disabilities. Working-age adults with disabilities also reported more hospital stays and more office visits than adults without disabilities. This also may result in higher out-of-pocket costs and delayed treatment for adults with disabilities.