New data shows the uninsured rate falling to 9.1 percent for the first nine months of 2015, in the most complete picture yet of how Obamacare is increasing the share of Americans with health insurance.
About 29 million people in the country lacked health coverage from January through September, down from 36 million people during the same time period in 2014, the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.
During the first nine months of 2015, the second year of enrollment in Obamacare’s health insurance marketplaces came to a close and some initial enrollees dropped off the rolls as they failed to pay their monthly premiums. Yet despite some setbacks, the uninsured rate fell 2.4 percentage points from the previous year.
The improvement in the uninsured rate is largely due to coverage expansions through Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act as well as state-based marketplaces where the uninsured can get income-based subsidies to help afford plans.
The percentage of Americans with marketplace plans grew significantly between the start of the second enrollment season at the end of 2014 and last summer, increasing from 2.5 percent of the population to 4.2 percent over that period.
Since President Obama signed his healthcare law in 2010, the uninsured rate has dropped dramatically, falling from about 16 percent to 9 percent. Yet the administration admits that progress may be slowing, as it faces challenges in convincing the remaining uninsured to get coverage.
