As Affordable Care Act Increased Health Insurance Coverage, Volunteering Rose
One of the indirect societal benefits of the Affordable Care Act has been increased levels of volunteerism, especially among lower-income populations, a study from
Researchers found that instances of self-reported volunteerism increased markedly among people in low-income groups who lived in states that enacted the Affordable Care Act's
The study, published in Socius:
"Our thought was to see if we would find any changes in volunteer rates between states that opted to expand
Research has shown that obtaining health insurance provides individuals greater emotional and financial stability. Other research has shown that when people are financially stable, they are more likely to volunteer. Given that the ACA's
"We also were surprised that the associations between the ACA and volunteering were noteworthy even in advance of measurable changes in the literal health of the respondents," Sohn said.
Low-income adults under 65 living in
When respondents were asked whether they had participated in informal "helping," like assisting a neighbor, or working on a neighborhood improvement project, a similar pattern emerged. People living in
States that did not expand
Higher-income groups in
The study also found that volunteer work in
Post-ACA in
There's a positive domino effect at play. This analysis seems to suggest that communities-at-large can benefit from greater populations of residents enjoying the stability provided by health insurance coverage.
"People who are not necessarily affected by
One thing that did not seem to be affected in populations where
Further investigation into indirect benefits of health insurance such as volunteerism and well-being could be affected by the current cloud of uncertainty around the fate of the ACA and
"But it's clear that there are larger societal benefits to be considered as policymakers pursue changes to individual healthcare," she said.
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