A study published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found nearly a third of people without health insurance (about 10 million) live in families that received a federal earned income tax credit in 2014, but were not notified by the IRS that their low and moderate incomes likely mean their households qualify for Medicaid or subsidies to buy coverage on the insurance exchanges.
Here are five things to know:
1. About half of the uninsured people in families receiving the earned income tax credit are eligible for significant financial assistance; 4.1 million are eligible for Medicaid and another 1.1 million are eligible for large subsidies on policies purchased on the federal health law's insurance exchanges and cost sharing reductions because they have incomes below twice the federal poverty level.
2. According to latest Census data, about 33 million Americans remain uninsured, despite the ACA driving down uninsured rates to historic lows over the past few years.
3. Some local governments are making efforts to identify the uninsured. New Jersey and Maryland check state income tax filings to find those likely eligible for Medicaid. Louisiana and West Virginia have sent letters to food stamp recipients to invite them to sign up for Medicaid.
4. The IRS' website suggests people go to Healthcare.gov to look for health insurance options, and the agency advises tax preparers to tell people about their insurance options. However, many people who receive the earned income tax credit don't use tax preparers.
5. Tricia Brooks, a senior fellow at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families in Washington, D.C., said a better course for the IRS is to target those who qualified for the earned income tax credit in the states that did expand Medicaid.