Mental Health and the ACA Medicaid Expansion

Abstract

The Medicaid expansion was passed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by 25 states in 2014, in 11 other states since, and not at all in 16 states/territories (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2023). The primary goal of the Medicaid expansion is to widen the eligibility of Medicaid to a greater number of low-income individuals. Research has been done on the effects of the Medicaid expansion on various health behaviors such as smoking or drinking as well as on mental health. However, the research that has been done on the effect of the Medicaid expansion on the mental health of individuals tends to contradict in their respective findings. It is extremely important to continue to research the effect of the Medicaid expansion on mental health in the long run since mental health is not easily or quickly changed. Thus, I studied the effects of the Medicaid expansion on the mental health of individuals by using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey for the years 2011 to 2021 (see more details about the BRFSS in the data section).