The number of uninsured Americans is now at a record low thanks to the Affordable Care Act. In a study conducted by the National Health Interview Survey over the first three months of 2016, it was found that only 8.6% of Americans were without health care, roughly 27.3 million people. That figure is historically the lowest, as never before has the U.S. seen an uninsured rate drop below the 9% mark.
Compare that to 2010 when the ACA first went into effect. 16% of Americans, or 48.6 million were uninsured. That number has been slashed by almost 20 million people. Further, the uninsured rate dropped by 1.3 million from 2015 to the first quarter of 2016. While the ACA only started gaining momentum in 2014, these figures show a significant change in providing health care for all.
Further stats from the survey show that Whites are at 8.4% uninsured, Blacks are at 13%, and Asians are at 6.7%. Although the number of Hispanics uninsured (24.5%) is still relatively high compared to the aforementioned, that number still marks a huge drop from 40.6% in 2013.
While the survey also reflected that Health Insurance Marketplace plans brought higher deductibles / premiums compared to some employer sponsored programs, the uptick in plans purchased through the Marketplace show that despite plans being costlier than some of those from employers, Americans are taking an active role in obtaining insurance when it isn’t otherwise offered.