Obamacare Uninsured Rate Declines, But Americans Still Hold Unfavorable View Affordable Care Act
The overall U.S. uninsured rate has fallen, but a new survey showed Americans are not content with the Affordable Care Act, also referred to as Obamacare.
According to Gallup and Healthways' Well-Being Index, the uninsured rate as of the third quarter of 2014 is 13.4 percent, which has been touted as the lowest recorded rate since the two organizations began its tracking in 2008. The previous lowest percentage rate was 14.4 percent in the third quarter of 2008. The report noted the uninsured rate dropped "sharply" following the ACA's implementation. Since the fourth quarter of 2013, the uninsured rate slipped 3.7 percentage points from 17.1 percent.
The second and third quarter of 2014 did not see a rate change among the uninsured since health insurance exchanges were not accepting new enrollments. The first ACA open-enrollment period ended in April, but the second enrollment period is scheduled to start on Nov. 15.
The uninsured rate dropped the most in the western U.S. Since the fourth quarter of 2013, the uninsured rate dropped from 18.7 percent to 13.9 percent. The Midwest and south encountered declines with 3.9 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. Despite the uninsured rate decline in the south, the region still hosts the highest uninsured population. Lastly, the Northeast's uninsured rate declined from 12.5 percent to 9.8 percent.
"The Affordable Care Act seems to be accomplishing its goal of providing more Americans with health insurance, as the uninsured rate is at its lowest point in Gallup's nearly seven-year trend," Gallup noted but recognized the second enrollment period will be shorter than its initial rollout, lasting three months instead of six months.
While the uninsured rate fell, more Americans said the ACA has had a negative affect on them than helped. Gallup found 54 percent of Americans surveyed said the ACA has "hurt" them, although it is a decline from 59 percent earlier this year. Some Americans have seen the ACA help them. The latest survey showed 27 percent of Americans say the ACA "helped," which is an increase from 24 percent, but 16 percent said the health insurance law "had no effect" on them.
"Americans overall are both more positive and more negative about the law's effect on themselves and their families," Gallup reported but found attitudes about the ACA is split between political-party lines.
"Democrats are much more likely than Republicans and independents to say the law has helped them, and Republicans are much more likely to say it has hurt them," Gallup's Rebecca Riffkin wrote. "Similar percentages of Americans from all three partisan groups say the law has had no effect."
According to Gallup and Healthways, the latest Well-Being Index was based on over 44,900 interviews with American adults between July 1 and Sept. 30. The survey on whether the ACA has "helped" or "hurt" them was conducted between Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 with a random sample of 1,014 adults.
As Latin Post reported, The Commonwealth Fund said the uninsured rate for Latinos decreased from 36 percent to 23 percent as a result of the ACA. The 13-percent decline was attributed to young and less financially stabled individuals, two groups that "historically" had high rates of being uninsured.
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