"Before the ACA, individual insurers in the vast majority of states could collect information on demographic characteristics and medical history, and then deny coverage, charge higher premiums, and/or limit benefits to individuals based on pre-existing conditions. An industry survey found that 34 percent of individual market applicants were charged higher-than-standard rates based on demographic characteristics or medical history.4 Similarly, a 2009 survey found that, among adults who had individual market coverage or shopped for it in the previous three years, 36 percent were denied coverage, charged more, or had exclusions placed on their policy due to pre-existing conditions.5 A report…

"• Up to 133 million non-elderly Americans—just over half (51 percent) of the non-elderly population—may have a pre-existing condition. This includes 67 million women and girls and 66 million men and boys. "• The likelihood of having a pre-existing condition increases with age: up to 84 percent of those ages 55 to 64—31 million individuals—have at least one pre-existing condition. "• Among the most common pre-existing conditions are high blood pressure (46 million people), behavioral health disorders (45 million people), high cholesterol (44 million people); asthma/chronic lung disease (34 million people), heart conditions (16 million people), diabetes (13 million people),…

"Patient service revenue grew. Largely linked to the growth in patient volumes from insured patients, operating revenues increased for expansion state hospitals (by an average of 17 percent) and, to a lesser extent, for non-expansion state hospitals (11 percent on average) between 2013 and 2015. For expansion state hospitals, this increase came largely from Medicaid. Revenue growth was especially large for the study hospitals that receive cost-based Medicaid reimbursement (for at least some patients and/or services) from their states; these hospitals include the rural critical access hospitals and LAC+USC (Appendix 2). For others, Medicaid reimbursement is less than the costs…

"Study hospitals (Appendix 2) in states that expanded eligibility for the Medicaid program experienced considerable patient volume increases from Medicaid enrollment expansions, whereas they experienced little volume change from the ACA’s expansion of commercial coverage through the federal and state Marketplaces. Despite concerns that they might lose many newly insured patients to other providers, these study hospitals largely retained existing patients and gained new ones. The growth in patient volume was especially notable for outpatient care, and there were corresponding marked increases in the proportion of their patients with insurance coverage. The growth in outpatient visits reflects in part safety…