Surveys: National uninsured rate lowest on record, Ohio rate also declines

New survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the national uninsured rate is at its lowest level in the 17 years history of the survey (Source: “CDC: The uninsured rate now the lowest on record,” Vox, Sept. 16, 2014).

The CDC survey found that the uninsured rated dropped 1.3 percentage points in the past year, from 15.7 percent in 2007 to 13.1 percent (last year the rate was 14.4 percent). The  uninsured rate for kids has fallen from 13.9 percent in 1997 to 6.6 percent today, a decline that policy experts attribute to Children's Health Insurance Program, which was created in 1997 to offer insurance coverage to low income children.

Similar data released this week from the Census Bureau found that the number of Ohioans without health insurance fell by 47,000 last year. Ohio is one of 15 states that saw a decline in its pool of uninsured from 2012 through 2013 (Source: "Number of Ohioans without health insurance declines sharply," Dayton Daily News, Sept. 16, 2014)

NOTE: The author of the Vox article, Sarah Kliff, will be the keynote speaker at HPIO’s Oct. 14 forum “Politics, perceptions and the ACA’s impact on coverage and access.” For more information or to register for the event, click here.