Document Type
Article
Abstract
Health insurance and health care accessibility have historically been ongoing issues within the United States. Two key factors associated with the likelihood of an individual being insured are educational attainment and income. The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has been the largest overhaul of health care in the US to date, aimed to reduce disparities in health insurance coverage and health care accessibility. My research analyzes the extent to which the ACA succeeded in reducing disparities related to educational attainment. To examine the ACA’s effects, I utilize the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data from 2008 and 2015 combined with Edward Barry’s SPSS political science data from 2024 in linear regression models to compare changes in health insurance status pre- and post-ACA implementation. The results suggest the association between educational attainment and uninsured rates weakened and became less statistically significant in the post-ACA period. This result suggests a potential reduction in educational attainment related health insurance coverage disparities. This finding coupled with the 2025 passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act suggest future negative implications for health insurance equality and health care accessibility without policymaker interventions.
Publication Date
2026
Recommended Citation
Adamich, Madelaine R., "Educational Inequality in Health Insurance Coverage Before and After the Affordable Care Act" (2026). Journal of Earth and Life Science. 94.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/j-earth-life-sci/94
Included in
American Politics Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Health Policy Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Public Affairs Commons, Public Policy Commons, Social Statistics Commons, Social Welfare Commons, Social Welfare Law Commons
Comments
Faculty sponsor: Dr. Paul A. Kivi, Department of Environmental Studies