Am J Prev Med

Introduction:The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provision implemented policies to improve coverage to young adults. It is not known if it affected access to care among young adults with hypertension.Methods:National Health Interview Survey data from 2006\u20132009 and 2011\u20132014 were used. Young adults aged 19\u201325 years were assessed for potential barriers to access to health care. We compared the percentage of each indicator of barriers to access to health care among young adults in general, as well as those with hypertension in the two time periods and estimated the adjusted odds ratios. All data were self-reported. The analyses were conducted in 2016.Results:Among young adults, the frequencies of barrier indicators were significant lower in 2011\u20132014 than 2006\u20132009, except \u201cdid not see doctor in past 12 months\u201d. Among those with hypertension, the percentage reporting \u201cno health insurance\u201d (31.3% vs 23.3%, p=0.037), \u201cno place to see a doctor when needed\u201d (30.5% vs 21.6%, p=0.031) or \u201ccannot afford prescribed medicine\u201d (23.0% vs 15.3%, p=0.023) were significantly lower in 2011\u20132014 compared to that of 2006\u20132009. The differences maintained statistical significance after adjusting for sex, race/ethnicity and level of education.Conclusions:Significant differences in select access to care measures were found among young adults with hypertension between 2006\u20132009 and 2011\u20132014, as was found among young adults generally. Changes in extension of dependent insurance coverage in 2010 may have led to improvements in access to care among this group.CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2020-02-24T00:00:00Z29153123PMC70386427245vault:3468