The Urban Institute recently released a paper on the decline of health care access in the United States for both insured and uninsured adults. The study measured access with three criteria: the likelihood of having unmet medical needs due to cost, receiving a routine checkup, and receiving a dental visit; looking at all nonelderly adults and the subgroup of uninsured adults. While the paper’s authors conclude that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will help states increase access, a closer look at the findings reveals that the health reform law is unlikely to be a cure-all. The ACA does not fix the deeper problem individuals face: the rising cost of medical care and a stagnant economy. 

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