In which data from my site is plugged into an interactive U.S. map!

OK, this is pretty nifty! You know those way-cool interactive color-coded maps that you see on major media sites like the NY Times? The ones where you can roll over each state and get pop-up data, etc?

Well, a company called Graphiq which specializes in exactly these maps has done just that with some of my data. The map below shows the percentage of those eligible to enroll in ACA exchange policies who were enrolled as of June 2015. Obviously these numbers have likely shifted since June, and will look quite different starting in January, but this is the most recent hard data available.

The data comes from the third - sixth columns of The Spreadsheet, which itself in turn comes from CMS's official June 30, 2015 Effectuated Enrollment Snapshot report and the Kaiser Family Foundation's New Estimates of Eligibility for ACA Coverage among the Uninsured from October.

To calculate the number of uninsured who are eligible for exchange coverage, I took the KFF's estimate of how many uninsured are eligible for APTC assistance, then added in those who would have to pay full price due to being either above the 400% FPL income threshold or who have unaccepted ESI offers. I also had to subtract out those who are ineligible due to being caught in the Medicaid Gap or who are undocumented immigrants.

It's important to note that KFF's study only broke these out completely for 21 states. For the other 30 (including DC), my estimate of the “undocumented immigrant” number is based on an earlier study by KFF from a year or so ago, in conjunction with a Pew Research survey from a couple of years earlier.

Then, to break out the remaining number between “ESI offer” and “>400% FPL income”, I just did a rough ratio breakdown based on the other states. That is, for the 21 known states, KFF estimates roughly 15% have ESI offers to 12% with higher than 400% incomes, or roughly a 55/45 split. So, for example, if a given state has 100,000 ESI+400%, I broke it out 55K / 45K.

I know this isn’t exactly the most accurate way of doing it, but it’s the best I could do under the circumstances.

Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think!

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