Insurance Status of Mothers at the Time of Birth, by Demographic Characteristics

In 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the accessibility of health insurance by expanding Medicaid eligibility for adults with family incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level and introducing tax credits and cost-sharing for private insurance coverage available through Marketplace exchanges.

Insurance Status of Mothers at the Time of Birth, by Demographic Characteristics, a statistical brief from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component looks at the insurance status of mothers at the time of birth, before and after the introduction of the ACA, specifically, describing the following demographic characteristics: age, race/ethnicity, highest level of education, and percent of the federal poverty level.

Highlights:

• The percentage of mothers who were uninsured at the time of birth declined from 10.4% to 5.9%,or by 43.3%, between 2008-2013 and 2014-2019.
• The percentage of mothers who were privately covered at the time of birth increased from 55.4% to 60.5%, or by 9.2%, between 2008-2013 and 2014-2019.
• There was no significant change in the percentage of mothers with public coverage at time of birth between 2008-2013 and 2014-2019.
• When considering age subgroups, declines in the percentage of mothers who were uninsured at the time of birth were observed among women in the following age categories: 13 to 19, 20 to 29, and 30 to 39.
• Compared with non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black mothers, Hispanic mothers experienced the largest percentage point decline (9.9 percentage points) in the percentage uninsured at time of birth between 2008-2013 and 2014-2019.
• Increases in the percentage of mothers who were privately covered at the time of birth were observed among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black mothers.
• Accounting for educational attainment, declines in the percent of mothers who were uninsured at the time of birth were observed among those whose highest level of schooling was either a high school diploma/GED or a bachelor's degree.
• When stratified by the federal poverty level (FPL), the percentage of mothers who were uninsured at the time of birth declined only for women in families with incomes at 0-138% FPL and 251-400% FPL.

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