BIO

Hi, my name is Emma Feigin. I am a sophomore majoring in Finance. I moved from New York to Tallahassee for college and joined the Research Opportunity Program during Fall 2022. I then joined Professor Born to study the Affordable Care Act and it's impact on state level marketplaces.

Enrollment under the ACA's effect on food insecurity

Abstract

The Affordable Care Act was passed to reduce out-of-pocket costs for health insurance and to increase the number of citizens with healthcare coverage in the US. These cost reductions have not only made healthcare more affordable, but have provided families across the US with the ability to pay for other basic needs. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program is a metric that can be used to quantify the number of families experiencing food insecurity on a state-to-state level. Limited access to food has emerged as a key indicator of health problems such as a higher BMI and behavioral issues. The purpose of this analysis is to assess the correlation between the passage of the ACA and the number of Adults and Children experiencing food insecurity on a state-level basis. This study uses TANF data from the years 2015-2022 and compares these figures to the data of the number of citizens insured on a state level basis from 2015-2022.

Keywords: ACA Exchange