Fewer Americans Are Uninsured One Year After New Health Law

Yahoo Health
Updated

(Photo: Getty Images)

According to the latest statistics released today by the National Health Interview Survey, the number of people who were not covered under a health insurance plan in 2014 has declined compared to estimates from 2009 through 2013.

These stats were derived after the Affordable Care Act offered coverage to the public one year ago.

The percentage of adults, age 18 to 24, who were uninsured at the time of the interview decreased to 16.3 percent in 2014 from 20.4 percent in 2013. The group with the largest decrease were younger adults age 19 through 25. In this group, 20 percent were without health insurance in 2014 compared to 26.5 percent in 2013.

Uninsured at time of interview in 2014 comparing expanded regions and national percentages for persons under age 65. (Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

“A significant increase” was seen in the percentage of Americans under the age of 65 who had purchased a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace or state-based exchanges. During quarter one of 2014, 1.4 percent (3.7 million) of people were covered by a public health plan. By quarter four, that number increased to 2.5 percent (6.7 million).

Breaking down the numbers by race and ethnicity, the stats are also encouraging. While 18.9 percent of black Americans were uninsured in 2013, that number dropped to 13.5 percent in 2014 — the biggest change per calendar year for any racial or ethnic group since 1997.

A few other numbers from the data are as follows:

  • Private coverage was highest among those who were not poor (83.9 percent) and lowest among those who were poor (21.9 percent)

  • Public health care coverage was lowest among employed adults, age 18 to 64, (9.5 percent) and highest among those who were unemployed (41.0 percent).

  • The number of uninsured poor adults, age 18 to 64, decreased to 32.3 percent in 2014 from 39.3 percent in 2013. The percentage of those in this category who were covered under a public plan increased to 46.6 percent from 42.4 percent.

“The law has had a more pronounced effect in covering African-Americans than whites,” said Larry Levitt, a director at the Program for the Study of Health Reform and Private Insurance at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health research organization, told the New York Times. “If all states were expanding Medicaid, you’d see an even bigger effect.”

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