Expansion of Coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Primary Care Utilization

Context: Provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) expand Medicaid to all individuals in families earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) and make available subsidies to uninsured lower-income Americans (133 to 400 percent of FPL) without access to employer-based coverage to purchase insurance in new exchanges. Since primary care physicians typically serve as the point of entry into the...