Health Care Reform Research

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), passed in 2011 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012, is a piece of landmark legislation that seeks to reform health care in America. One of its primary goals is to achieve health care coverage for perhaps 30 million Americans who currently lack insurance. Implemetation of the ACA will require significant changes in the way health care is delivered in the US, particularly to its most vulnerable citizens. Research is underway to ascertain the characteristics of the health care "safety net" (state and federal programs that serve the un- or under-insured) in Iowa, to evaluate the implications of the ACA on the safety net, and to explore ways to increase efficiency and coordination of the system.