Census: Ohio uninsured rate drops after ACA implemented

Data released this week by the Census Bureau shows that the uninsured rate in Ohio dropped to 8.4 percent in 2014, down from 11 percent the previous year (Source: “Obamacare credited with cutting rate of uninsured,” Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 17, 2015). 

Nationwide, the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that the percentage of uninsured U.S. residents declined to 11.7 percent, from 14.5 percent.

Results from another census survey, also released on Wednesday, showed the national rate of uninsured people shrank from 13.3 percent to 10.4 percent, or by 8.8 million people. That survey counts people as uninsured only if they have gone without health coverage for the entire year.

The census found that the Medicaid population grew by 2 percentage points, from 17.5 percent of the population in 2013 to 19.5 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, the population that purchases health coverage directly from insurance companies — including through the federally and state-run health-insurance marketplaces — increased by 3.2 percentage points, from 11.4 percent to 14.6 percent.