You can thank the President for that…
Remember when President Trump said he wanted “insurance for everybody” that would be “much less expensive and much better?” Well, he’s done just the opposite since taking office. His efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act have resulted in higher health costs and fewer Americans with coverage. Polling from Gallup, released this morning, shows an increase in the uninsured rate from 2016. HuffPost reports:
“The uninsured rate is creeping back up. After several years of dramatic declines in the percentage of Americans who lack health insurance ― a direct result of the Affordable Care Act’s coverage provisions ― the trend is beginning to reverse, according to new data the polling firm Gallup and digital health company Sharecare published Wednesday.”
“The share of Americans without health insurance rose to 12.2 percent last year, up from 10.9 percent at the end of 2016. The 2016 figure was the lowest Gallup recorded since tracking the uninsured rate in 2008. The low uninsured rate two years ago represented a decline of nearly 7 percentage points from 2013, the year before the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and subsidies for private health insurance came online and the year with the highest rate in Gallup’s polling history.”
“What’s more, the uninsured rate increased in 17 states last year, andit was the first year since 2014 that at least one state didn’t experience a decline in those without health insurance, Gallup and Sharecare report.”
“Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico and West Virginia saw the largest increases. Massachusetts’ 4 percent uninsured rate was the nation’s lowest, and the highest was in Texas at 22.1 percent, according to the findings of telephone surveys conducted throughout 2017.”
“But much higher premiums for those who buy insurance on their own, President Donald Trump’s actions to weaken the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces and other factors have begun to undo the gains seen earlier this decade. In other words, Trump’s sabotage of the Affordable Care Act appears to be working. There’s reason to believe this trend will continue this year and into the future.”
“The share of Americans without health insurance rose to 12.2 percent last year, up from 10.9 percent at the end of 2016. The 2016 figure was the lowest Gallup recorded since tracking the uninsured rate in 2008. The low uninsured rate two years ago represented a decline of nearly 7 percentage points from 2013, the year before the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and subsidies for private health insurance came online and the year with the highest rate in Gallup’s polling history.”
“What’s more, the uninsured rate increased in 17 states last year, andit was the first year since 2014 that at least one state didn’t experience a decline in those without health insurance, Gallup and Sharecare report.”
“Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico and West Virginia saw the largest increases. Massachusetts’ 4 percent uninsured rate was the nation’s lowest, and the highest was in Texas at 22.1 percent, according to the findings of telephone surveys conducted throughout 2017.”
“But much higher premiums for those who buy insurance on their own, President Donald Trump’s actions to weaken the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces and other factors have begun to undo the gains seen earlier this decade. In other words, Trump’s sabotage of the Affordable Care Act appears to be working. There’s reason to believe this trend will continue this year and into the future.”