A research report by:
Though employed, thousands of low-income people cannot afford private insurance, even through their employers.
But for people living in states that have not approved Medicaid expansion, even a low-paid, hourly job will make them ineligible for Medicaid benefits.
This is the “coverage gap” — and it leaves millions of working people with no health care coverage at all.
United for Respect and our partners at Community Catalyst — an organization dedicated to creating a health system rooted in race equity and health justice — dug into the details.
Here’s what we found:
2.2 million left behind
In non-expansion states, there are approximately 2.2 million people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to qualify for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace subsidies, leaving them with no affordable health care coverage options.
Systemic racism at work
Six in ten people who fall into this health care coverage gap are Black and brown.
Left with no good options
Working people who are left in this gap are forced to either forgo care, or end up saddled with medical debt after relying on the emergency room for basic care needs.
But we can fix this.
Find out how you can help: