The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded Medicaid eligibility and created health insurance marketplaces where income-eligible individuals receive subsidies to purchase coverage. As Congress continues to debate the effects the ACA has had, the brief highlights the ways in which California’s self-employed and small business employees who lack employer-sponsored insurance were affected by the expanded coverage options under the ACA.

Analysis of California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data shows substantial coverage gains between 2013 and 2015 among self-employed Californians and those working for small businesses (defined as having 50 or fewer employees). Among both groups, approximately one in five workers lacked insurance in 2015, compared to one in three in 2013.

• Rachel Siemons
• Laurel Lucia, MPP
• Ken Jacobs