Access to Health Insurance Helps Low-Income Families Make Rent

A recent study led by a team at Washington University in St. Louis shows that low-income families who get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are 15 percent more likely to pay their rent or mortgage on time than those who are uninsured. The researchers examined tax and survey data on roughly 5,000 people living near the poverty line. The findings strongly indicate that health insurance makes a difference in families where the need for a pricey medication or an operation can mean skipping bills or missing rent payments. Both chambers of Congress have approved a budget resolution in recent weeks that sets the stage for broad swaths of the ACA to be repealed, which could have significant impacts on the finances of low-income households.