Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing (Jan 2016)

Residential High-Speed Internet Among Those Likely to Benefit From an Online Health Insurance Marketplace

  • Michel H. Boudreaux PhD,
  • Gilbert Gonzales PhD,
  • Lynn Blewett PhD,
  • Brett Fried MS,
  • Pinar Karaca-Mandic PhD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958015625231
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 53

Abstract

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Using data from the 2013 American Community Survey, we found that 24.3 million people (about 1 in 4) who were either eligible for Medicaid/Children’s Health Inusrance Program (CHIP) or appeared likely to shop for Qualified Health Plan (QHP) lacked residential high-speed Internet. Specifically, 28.6% or 18.9 million people eligible for Medicaid/CHIP and 17.1% or 5.5 million people who appeared likely to shop for a QHP did not have high-speed Internet in the home. For both the Medicaid/CHIP eligible and those likely to shop for a QHP, the proportion of people living in households without Internet varied substantially by race, geography, and other socio-demographic characteristics.