The Obama administration estimated in March that 16.4 million people had gained coverage under the law, using Gallup survey data. But the percentage of uninsured is also in decline in states with own health insurance exchanges to sell private coverage.
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Here’s the percentage-point drop in the rate of people without health insurance in each state between 2013 and the first half of 2015.
Analysts said the rate drop could be pegged largely to the implementation of Obama’s health reform law as well as the improving economy.
Though there has been an increase in the number of Americans enrolling in Medicaid after states adopted expansion, Nina Owcharenko, director of the Center for Health Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, said the quality of care provided to Medicaid recipients differs substantially from those receiving private insurance. The percentage of adults covered by public health plans rose from 17.1 percent to 18.1 percent. And it seems to be happening: earlier this year, in Colliers 2015 Medical Office Space Outlook Report, the company noted that MOB vacancy rates had dropped to 11 percent and were forecast to continue to decline (except for older buildings), and cap rates were continuting to compress. Today, the Gallup survey says, it is 9 percent.
The highest regional rate of uninsured residents was 15.6 percent in the West South Central region, which covers Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
The decrease was particularly notable in states, like Massachusetts, which agreed to expand Medicaid to 138 percent of the poverty line, mostly at the expense of the federal government, though the numbers of individuals insured through private coverage on exchanges increased as well. In 2013, 14 states had uninsured rates above 20%. The 2015 estimates are based on data from slightly more than 26,000 people, the researchers noted.
It’s the latest in a series of reports showing the Affordable Care Act is expanding the availability of coverage. California’s uninsured rate has dropped from 21.6% to 11.8%.
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Through the first half of 2015, there are now seven states with uninsured rates that are at or below 5%: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Minnesota, Iowa, Connecticut and Hawaii. Experts don’t expect everyone to get insurance; undocumented immigrants, for example, aren’t eligible for coverage through the ACA. States that expanded Medicaid are marked with asterisks. The North Dakota Blues have seen more employers provide health insurance for the first time, Bellmore said. People can sign up to buy insurance through the law’s online marketplaces and receive government help with the cost if their incomes are below around $97,000 for a family of four.
