The Obama effect: Uninsured rate hit record low
The percentage of Americans without healthcare coverage in the United States has reached record lows as Obamacare programs continue enrolling new customers.
According to data released on Jan. 7 by Gallup, during the last quarter of 2014, an average of 12.9% of Americans lacked coverage.
That was a drop from an average of 13.5% during the prior quarter, and represents a 4.2% drop in the year (2013) since Obamacare marketplace began selling insurance plans. The current level is the lowest since Gallup began tracking the number of uninsured Americans through surveys since 2008.
While the launch of the U.S. government-run health marketplace in 2013, which is responsible for some of the decreases in the uninsured rate about 6.7 million paying customers have enrolled last fall and another reason for the decrease has been the expansion of Medicaid eligibility in more than half of the U.S.