The nation's uninsured rate has plunged to a new low as more consumers shop in Obamacare's exchanges, according to the latest Gallup statistics.
The uninsured rate among adults is now 12.9 percent, down from 13.4 percent in the third quarter of 2014 and down significantly from 17.1 percent a year ago, the new poll finds, marking a drop of 5 percent since the individual mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act went into effect.
Though the uninsured rate has declined across nearly all key demographic groups in year one of PPACA, the sharpest decline in the uninsured has been among African-American and low-income Americans. Among Hispanics—the largest population of the nation's uninsured—the rate has droppednearly 7 percent, but still remains high at 32.4 percent. And, pollsters note, across age groups, the uninsured rate dropped the most among 18- to 25-year-olds, falling about 6 points from a year ago.
The new uninsured data is good news for the Obama administration, who continues to defend its massive law. But the Gallup number, at 12.9 percent, is lower than the uninsured rate government officials cited in December. The Council of Economic Advisers, citing figures from the National Center for Health Statistics' National Health Interview Survey, said the nation's uninsured rate was at 11.3 percent and “at or near the lowest level recorded across five decades of data.”
According to Gallup data, many Americans gained coverage through self-funded plans, Medicaid and Medicare. About one in five are now covered by a self-funded plan, up three points since the fourth quarter of 2013. That's due to more Americans purchasing individual plans through a federal or state health insurance exchange, Gallup said.
Gallup pollsters also said they expect the uninsured rate to drop further in the coming year, citing the employer mandate, expanded Medicaid and the increasing fine in 2015 for not having insurance under the law.
At the same time, Gallup said, “closing the health insurance gap may be more challenging this year than last, as those who did not sign up last year may be harder to reach or more reluctant to get health insurance. Additionally, the open enrollment period will be nearly two months shorter in 2015 than in 2014.”
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