The Relationship between Increased Stability and Coverage from Public Health Insurance and Opioid Miuse among Parenting Women: Study from The Affordable Care Act

In this paper, I examine the impact that increased public insurance continuation for new mothers may
have on use among parenting women expecting extended coverage. This study compares the changes in
opioid and substance misuse between income groups with and without Medicaid expansions under the
Affordable Care Act. I identify women most likely to benefit from this policy by using survey information
on socioeconomic status and age. Using data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health and the
Current Population Survey cross-sectional data, I find that before 2014, misuse trends among identified
income groups did not differ significantly, but after 2014 there is a significant yet small decrease among
lower income mothers who experience higher growth in Medicaid coverage after 2014. Parenting women
with income below-64% FPL experience a 2.9-percentage-point decrease and those with income 64–138%
FPL experience a 2-percentage-point decrease in opioid misuse rate.