Obamacare might be making a difference when it comes to insuring Americans, according to a new poll released yesterday.
The percentage of uninsured U.S. adults is at its lowest since 2008 after dipping 15.6% in the first quarter of 2014, according to the Gallup survey released Monday.
Precise figures on national health coverage will not be available for months but the data indicates that the uninsured rate for every major demographic group has dropped so far this year. The Affordable Care Act seems to be making progress toward its principal goal, as at least 9.5 million previously uninsured people gained coverage by the closing of the law’s initial enrollment period.
Approximately 45 million to 48 million people are believed to have been uninsured before the marketplaces opened last year.
The Obama administration has made the enrollment of young adults a priority, as 40% of new enrollees must be young and healthy for the Affordable Care Act to be successful. However, Gallup’s poll showed only 25% of new enrollees were in the 18-to-34 age range as of Feb. 28. But that doesn’t include March’s numbers, which show a mass rush to sign up as the March 31 deadline approached.
The data is based on 43,500 interviews with U.S. adults from Jan. 2 to March 31.
