Disability, Federal Disability Benefits, and Health Care Access After the Affordable Care Act

Limited research considers whether differences in health care access and utilization exist for individuals with a disability with and without receipt of federal disability benefits in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) era. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data (2014-2016) are used to estimate the relationship between federal disability benefit receipt and health care access and utilization for individuals with a disability, controlling for disability benefit application, and predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics. Study results show that individuals with a disability receiving federal disability benefits have increased odds of seeing any provider (odds ratio [OR]: 1.50; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.12, 2.01]) and decreased odds of worrying about the costs of health care (OR: 0.68; 95% CI = [0.57, 0.80]) and delaying needed medical care due to costs (OR: 0.50; 95% CI = [0.42, 0.61]) versus nonrecipients with a disability. Findings highlight the continued importance to address disabled nonrecipients' health care access and utilization barriers in the post-ACA period.