Public insurance fills the health coverage gap, new UCLA analysis shows

In the years leading up to implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of Californians who received their health insurance through public programs continued to rise, likely in direct response to the loss of job-based coverage in the state, according to a new analysis by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.   The data for the analysis, collected in 2012 by the California Health Interview Survey, represents the most recent comprehensive statewide source of information on health insurance trends. The fact sheet was funded by The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation.   According to the analysis, the percentage of non-elderly state residents receiving health insurance through an employer dipped just below 50 percent in 2011 and remained there in 2012 — a 6 percentage-point decrease since 2001.   Public programs, such as Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, insured nearly 20 percent of Californians in 2012, a 3 percentage-point increase since 2009 and a 5 percentage-point increase since 2001.   "In effect, public programs have stepped in as employers have stepped out," said Shana Alex Lavarreda, the center's director of health insurance studies and the lead author on the fact sheet. "The data refutes any lingering arguments that employer-based insurance is the solution to our health care coverage crisis."   Jobs that are returning to the state after the Great Recession seem to lack affordabl...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news