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Who benefits from health care reform?

Just about every American stands to get new benefits from the Affordable Care Act, if and when it's fully implemented.
Who benefits from health care reform?
Who benefits from health care reform?

Just about every American stands to get new benefits from the Affordable Care Act, if and when it's fully implemented. Even those who like their current coverage will get some additional piece of mind from consumer safeguards.

But the Kaiser Family Foundation has a new report out today noting that some stand to benefit more than others. In this case, Kaiser takes a look at the breakdown by geography. (via Kay at Balloon Juice)

As Sarah Kliff explained, the above image breaks down the nation by zip code, looking for households earning less than 400% of the federal poverty rate. "That's an important number: Anyone earning below it will either qualify for subsidized health insurance, and anyone earning less than 133 percent of the poverty line becomes eligible for Medicaid."

In other words, the darker the color on the map, the more likely families in that area will benefit from the coverage in the Affordable Care Act.

It's when the political irony kicks in: those in the deep South and Plains states are the most likely to oppose the health care reform law and they're the ones most likely to benefit from its existence.