WASHINGTON – A record low 8% of Americans lacked health insurance at the start of the year, according to an analysis by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provided first to USA TODAY.
More than 5 million people have gained coverage since 2020, according to the department’s review of household survey data.
The drop comes after Democrats temporarily boosted insurance premium subsidies and ramped up outreach to help people enroll in Obamacare plans created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
Coverage rates also grew as more states expanded Medicaid through the ACA and as states received extra Medicaid funding during the pandemic under the condition that they keep most Medicaid patients enrolled until the public health emergency ends.
The latest:
- The national uninsured rate of 8% in the first quarter of 2022 bested the previous low of 9% in 2016.
- The drop was largest among people in poverty and those with incomes between 200% and 400% of the federal poverty level.
- About half of the 4 million adults who gained insurance since 2020 got it through the insurance marketplaces set up by the ACA for people who aren’t covered through an employer or government plan like Medicare and Medicaid.
- The analysis is based on newly-released National Health Interview Survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What’s about to happen
It could be difficult for the record low uninsured rate to stick.
Democrats don’t know yet if they have the votes to extend for three more years premium subsidies that were expanded through the 2021 American Rescue Plan but that expire at the end of the year.
Subsidies became more generous for those who already qualified for assistance, lowering both premiums and deductibles. They were made newly available to people earning more than four times the federal poverty rate – about $54,360 for a single person.
A three-yeextension is included in the domestic policy package the Senate could take up this week. The bill does not include new incentives for the dozen states that have not expanded Medicaid, a provision that was pushed in an earlier version of the bill.
In addition, millions of Americans could lose Medicaid when states begin to unwind coverage after the Biden administration declares the COVID-19 public health emergency is over.
Top takeaways
President Biden campaigned on reinvigorating the ACA, which did not go as far as many Democrats wanted and which the Trump administration sought to undo.
The administration quadrupled the number of people available to assist with enrollment through HealthCare.gov. The more generous subsides passed in 2021 marked the largest expansion of health care since the ACA’s creation.
But while Biden now has bragging rights, they may not last.
What they are saying
- “No one should worry about whether they can pay for their doctor or choose between paying rent and filing a prescription. Today, we are closer than ever to making that principle a reality,” Biden said in a statement.
- “We know that access to quality, affordable health care is key to healthier lives, economic security, and peace of mind,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
Want to know more? Here’s what you missed
Report:5 million to 14 million Americans could lose Medicaid coverage when COVID-19 pandemic ends
Glitch fixing:With Obama’s help, Biden announces proposed fix to ACA’s ‘family glitch’
