The New York Times (8/12, A11, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports that the number of Americans without health insurance “continues to decline and has dropped by 15.8 million, or one-third, since 2013, the Obama administration said Tuesday.”
According to the Times, the report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics “suggests that the Affordable Care Act produced the most significant gains in coverage among poor people and those with income just over the poverty level, which is $11,770 for an individual.” In the first quarter of this year, 28 percent of poor people age 18 to 64 lacked health coverage, compared with 39.3 percent in 2013.
Coverage gains “were also notable” for Hispanics: In the first quarter, “28.3 percent of Hispanics age 18 to 64 were uninsured, down from 40.6 percent in 2013, the government said.”