Study: ObamaCare enrollees more likely to have checkups

People who gained ObamaCare coverage in 2014 were more likely to have a regular doctor and an annual checkup than people who remained uninsured, a new study finds. 

{mosads}The study, published in Health Affairs, finds that 27 percent of people who were uninsured in 2013 and gained coverage through ObamaCare’s marketplaces in 2014 went from not having a usual source of care to having one. That is significantly higher than the 11 percent of people who remained uninsured who gained a regular doctor. 

Similarly, 35 percent of people who gained ObamaCare marketplace coverage went from not having an annual checkup to having one, compared with 14 percent among people who remained uninsured. 

The authors, government researchers at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, noted that the findings went some way toward easing concerns, often expressed by critics of the health law, that the high deductibles in ObamaCare could mean that people would have trouble actually getting care despite technically having insurance. 

“Despite these concerns, our findings suggest that gains in insurance coverage in 2014 were associated with improvements in access to health care,” the authors, James B. Kirby and Jessica P. Vistnes, wrote.

The study also found gains in access to care among people who got Medicaid coverage, though they were slightly smaller than the gains for people gaining marketplace insurance.