This paper investigates the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, "Obamacare") on out-of-pocket medical expenditures and access to health care for households across the income distribution. Using a DDD identification strategy and simulated eligibility instruments, I parameterize three of the central policy provisions of the ACA: Medicaid expansion, insurance exchange subsidies and individual mandate penalties, and assess their separate effects. I find that all three policies decreased the OOP of targeted households at the bottom of the income distribution and increased utilization of medical services and access to health care.
Topics: Distribution , Health , Inequality