Effects of the affordable care act on insurance coverage and labor supply for noncitizen immigrants

Noncitizen immigrants constitute a sizable and growing share of the U.S. labor force. However, their response to changes in public benefits remains underexplored. Thus, the present study used undocumented immigrants (who are ineligible for public benefits) as a comparison group to determine whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) changed the insurance coverage and labor supply of documented noncitizens. Based on the findings, the ACA was associated with a significant decrease in the uninsured rate and a substantial increase in Medicaid coverage among documented noncitizens. This change in insurance coverage was also related to the limited change in labor force participation, although the effect differed in states that expanded Medicaid coverage from those that did not. Moreover, the number of working hours and full-time employed documented immigrants declined, compared to that of undocumented immigrants.