The study confirmed what has already been widely reported: states that opted not to expand Medicaid through the ACA have much higher uninsured rates. (Photo: Shutterstock)
In 2017, the first year of the Trump administration, the percentage of Americans without health insurance increased from 10 percent to 10.2 percent, a new analysis finds. That marked the first time since 2013, the year the Affordable Care Act was implemented, that the uninsured rate increased.
The rise in the uninsured rate came despite a significant increase in the number of people covered by employer-sponsored plans. While 2.3 million more people got health insurance through their jobs, the number getting coverage through Medicaid, CHIP or the Obamacare marketplace decreased by 1.9 million.
Related: Who are America’s uninsured?
Overall, 700,000 more people lacked insurance in 2017 than 2016, according to the analysis by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute.
The study confirmed what has already been widely reported: states that opted not to expand Medicaid through the ACA have much higher uninsured rates. They also experienced an increase in the uninsured rate, from 13.7 percent to 14.3 percent, while the rate remained flat in expansion states at 7.6 percent.
While researchers are not able to yet examine the data from 2018, they predict that the uninsured rate climbed again due to the tax legislation signed into law at the end of 2017, which ended the Obamacare individual mandate.
The Trump administration has also sought to undermine Obamacare enrollment by reducing the open enrollment period, cutting funds for marketing of the ACA marketplace and withholding funds to insurers.
“The increase in the number of people without insurance happened despite a strong economy and growth in employer-sponsored coverage,” said Mona Shah of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Hundreds of thousands of people losing their health insurance should be a wake-up call for health care leaders and policymakers to redouble efforts to ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable care.”
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