Nationwide, the rate those without dropped 3.5 percentage points during 2014, from 17.3% to 13.8%, according to the Gallup Poll. That is the lowest annualized rate Gallup has reported in the seven years it has tracked .
No state reported a statistically significant increase in the percentage in 2014 compared with 2013.
Arkansas and Kentucky reported the sharpest reductions since the Act’s requirement to have took effect at the beginning 2014. Oregon, Washington and West Virginia round out the top five.
the 11 states with the greatest reductions in the percentage uninsureds, 10 expanded and established a state-based exchange or state-federal partnership. Montana, which is tied for 10th, is the only exception.
The rate in states that expanded and set up their own state exchanges or partnerships in the declined significantly more in 2014 than in states that did not take these steps, Gallup found.
The rate declined 4.8 points in the 21 states that implemented both these measures, compared with a 2.7-point drop across the 29 states that have implemented only one or neither these actions.
Overall, Massachusetts has the lowest rate in the nation for the seventh consecutive year, at 4.6%, followed by 6.0% in Connecticut and Hawaii. The Massachusetts plan is based on the "Romneycare" model, from which certain aspects the Act were drawn.
Also for the seventh consecutive year, Texas has the highest rate at 24.4%, although this is lower than the 27.0% reported in 2013 and is the lowest rate measured to date for Texas.