
Sources: Commonwealth Fund’s Affordable Care Act Tracking Survey RAND Health Reform Opinion Study Urban Institute Health Reform Monitoring Survey Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey For all other surveys, the “before” numbers are for on or near the third quarter of 2013 and the “after” numbers are for the first six months of 2014. Note: For C.D.C., the “before” number is for all of 2013 and the “after” number is for the first three months of 2014. Witters is the research director of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which has been surveying Americans about their health insurance status since 2008.įive key surveys show that the percentage of uninsured Americans has declined.

“There’s no question it’s come down,” Dan Witters said of the uninsured rate. In addition to the recent changes, three million to four million people, mostly young adults, became newly insured through provisions of the law that kicked in before this year. Most of the rest enrolled in private health plans through the new state insurance marketplaces. Of that total, it appears that more than half of people who are newly insured signed up for Medicaid, especially in the states that opted to broaden eligibility for the program to low-income residents.
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Measured against that goal, it has made considerable progress.Ī perfect measurement of the numbers of people affected by the law is still difficult, but a series of private sector surveys and a government report reach the same basic estimates: The number of Americans without health insurance has been reduced by about 25 percent this year - or eight million to 11 million people. So far, 23 states have declined to do so.Īt its most basic level, the Affordable Care Act was intended to reduce the number of Americans without health insurance. Whether the uninsured population is further reduced significantly will depend in part on whether more states opt to expand Medicaid.

Several million more are expected to sign up in the coming year, but the total number of uninsured is projected to remain around 30 million for years to come. The number of uninsured Americans has fallen by about 25 percent this year, or about eight million to 11 million people.Īt least as many people have enrolled in Medicaid, the government health care program for lower-income people, as have signed up for private insurance through the new online marketplaces. The Number of Americans Without Health Insurance Is Down by About 25 Percent

Has the percentage of uninsured people been reduced? Twenty-three states have opposed expansion, though several of them are reconsidering.ħHas the law contributed to a slowdown in health care spending?

The law mostly helped, by providing new paying patients and insurance customers.ĦHow has the expansion of Medicaid fared? Most experts expect they will, but they will be tested by new challenges.ĥHas the health care industry been helped or hurt by the law? Yes, the number of uninsured has fallen significantly.ĢHas insurance under the law been affordable?ģDid the Affordable Care Act improve health outcomes?ĭata remains sparse except for one group, the young.ĤWill the online exchanges work better this year than last? But it has also fallen short in some ways and given rise to a powerful conservative backlash.ġHas the percentage of uninsured people been reduced? After a year fully in place, the Affordable Care Act has largely succeeded in delivering on President Obama’s main promises, an analysis by a team of reporters and data researchers shows.
