EMF21-04: Effects of Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace Plans on Disability Claiming

This project will study how changes in disability claiming are associated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans. Health insurance Marketplaces, a.k.a. “exchanges”, were established through the ACA to facilitate individual access to affordable health insurance, following implementation of the individual mandate. People with qualifying disabilities can alternatively obtain health insurance through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and SSI Child with disabilities programs. The research will focus on the effect of state-level changes in the prices of 30 years-old with two children health plan on the number of disability applications per 10,000 individuals at the state level. The study will assess the level of overlap in state-level premium changes across plan types to determine if other demographic subgroups are likely to be affected by the same price changes. It will also explore variation using the Geographic Rating Areas included in the health care exchange data matched at the county-level. The study will help policy makers understand the effects of ACA marketplace plans on SSI programs and how its interaction with other public or mean tested programs like Medicaid expansion plays an important role in disability claiming.