Surveys find ACA leading to significant drop in uninsured

Several new national surveys have found that the ranks of the uninsured have decreased significantly in 2014, coinciding with the implementation of major coverage and enrollment components of the Affordable Care Act (Source: “Uninsured rate sinks to record low,” The Hill, July 10, 2014).

According to Gallup, the national uninsured rate dropped to 13.4 percent in the second quarter, its lowest level since the organization started tracking the rate in 2008. According to the new Gallup analysis, the drop followed a "surge" of people completing applications for health insurance through ACA just before the deadline in mid-April.  Since the beginning of the law's open enrollment period, the total uninsured rate has declined 3.7 percent as millions of people gained coverage. 

According to a similar national survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, 9.5 million Americans gained health coverage during the recent marketplace enrollment period as the uninsured rate for working-age adults fell from 20 percent to 15 percent.

Young adults ages 19-34 saw some of the largest coverage gains, according to Commonwealth. Their uninsured rate fell from 28 percent to 18 percent. Uninsured rates for Latinos fell from 36 percent to 23 percent, the survey found. And low-income adults earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level saw their uninsured rate drop from 35 percent to 24 percent