http://www.gallup.com/poll/196193/uninsured-rate-new-low-third-quarter.aspx
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Uninsured rate reaches nine-year low
- Rate down 6.2 points since individual mandate took effect
- Uninsured rate has dropped most among low-income households, Hispanics
In the third quarter of 2016, 10.9% of U.S. adults were without health insurance, representing a new low in Gallup’s and Healthways’ nearly nine years of trending the rate of uninsured. This is down from 11.9% in the fourth quarter of 2015, before the 2016 open enrollment period that allowed U.S. adults to obtain insurance through the government health insurance exchanges.
The uninsured rate has declined 6.2 percentage points from 17.1% in the fourth quarter of 2013, right before the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that Americans carry health insurance took effect in early 2014.
Results for the third quarter are based on approximately 44,000 interviews with U.S. adults aged 18 and older from July 1- Sept. 30, 2016, conducted as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Gallup asks 500 U.S. adults each day whether they have health insurance, which, on an aggregated basis, allows for precise and ongoing measurement of the percentage of Americans with and without health insurance.
HENRY KOTULA 