The rate of uninsured Americans in 2018 rose for the first time since the Affordable Care Act went into place, according to new data from the Census Bureau.
The rate of uninsured, 8.5%, accounts for about 27.5 million people who had no health insurance coverage at some point in 2018. In 2017, 7.9% of people, or 25.6 million, did not have health insurance in the U.S.
The data comes at a time when the Trump administration is fighting to have the ACA overturned in its entirety. Late last year, a federal judge declared the healthcare law unconstitutional in a lawsuit Republican-launched lawsuit. The Department of Justice, typically tasked with defending law, did not defend the ACA in the case, and several Democratic states stepped in instead. The case is still in the appeals process, during which the ACA will remain law of the land.
The decline in uninsured could also reflect how the Trump administration has attacked the healthcare law, which brought down the nation’s uninsured rate drastically. The administration has also expanded short-term limited-duration health plans that do not offer comprehensive coverage and do not follow Obamacare, or ACA, standards.
CMS and HHS have also allowed it harder for some people to be on Medicaid by allowing states to implement work requirement programs that kick people off their health insurance if they fail to report work or work-related hours monthly.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."