Uninsured rate in U.S. goes up, survey finds

Reversing a trend over the past decade, a new survey shows that more people are living without insurance (Source: “After Falling Under Obama, America’s Uninsured Rate Looks to Be Rising,” New York Times, Jan. 23, 2019).

The number of Americans without health insurance plunged after Obamacare started. Now, early evidence suggests, it’s beginning to climb again.

New polling from Gallup shows that the percentage of uninsured Americans inched up throughout last year. That trend matches other data suggesting that health coverage has been eroding under the policies of the Trump administration.

Gallup estimated that the uninsured rate for adults increased by 1.3 percentage points. That would mean an increase of more than three million people without insurance between the first quarter of 2018 and the end of the year. Gallup said this was a four-year high, although a major methodology change a year ago may make such longer-term comparisons less precise.