Report: Obamacare increased HIV patients' coverage through Medicaid

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation report based on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Medical Monitoring Project, significant increases in health insurance coverage for people with HIV occurred under the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare).

This is the first national analysis of the effects of the ACA on people with HIV. It states that the increase in coverage occurred mainly in the 31 states and the District of Columbia in which the poor and disabled gained increased access to Medicaid.

The ACA took effect in 2012. In that year, 36% of people being treated for HIV were covered by Medicaid. By 2014, that proportion was 42%.

“The main takeaway is that for a population that faced a pretty significant barrier to Medicaid before the ACA, expansion of Medicaid made a big difference,” said Kaiser health policy analyst Jennifer Kates, who is one of the report's authors.