Uninsured rate continues to decline: 7 things to know

The uninsured rate among Americans has continued to drop since 2013, according to new figures from the government.

 

Between January and June 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked just over 54,000 individuals whether they had health insurance at that moment.

Here are eight things to know about uninsured rates outlined in CDC's National Health Interview Survey.

1. Approximately 9 percent of Americans were uninsured in the first six months of 2015. At the time of interview, 28.5 million people were uninsured, which translates to 9 percent of the population. This is 7.5 million fewer uninsured people than in 2014 and 16.3 million fewer than in 2013.

2. The uninsured rate declined among adults ages 18-64. The rate has been steadily decreasing from 20.4 percent in 2013 to 16.3 percent in 2014. In the first six months of 2015, the adult uninsured rate was 12.7 percent.

3. Private coverage for adults also increased. In 2013, 64.2 percent of adults ages 18-64 had private coverage. In 2014, the number increased to 67.3 percent, and in the first six months of 2015, 70.6 percent of adults had private coverage.

4. The percentage of children under 18 with private coverage rose. The number of children covered under private insurance increased from 52.6 percent in 2013 to 56.0 percent in the first six months of this year.

5. More individuals under 65 were covered through the marketplace or state-based exchanges. The number of Americans with private coverage through HealthCare.gov or state-based exchanges rose from 6.7 million — or 2.5 percent — in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 10.7 million — or 4.0 percent — in the second quarter of 2015.

6. The uninsured rate decreased among certain ethnicities. In the first six months of 2015, 27.2 percent of Hispanic, 14.5 percent of non-Hispanic black, 8.8 percent of non-Hispanic white and 7.3 percent of non-Hispanic Asian adults didn't have coverage. However, the uninsured rate has decreased among each of these groups since 2013, most prominently among Hispanic adults. The rate decreased from 40.6 percent in 2013 to 27.2 percent in the first six months of 2015.

7. Fewer individuals at the poverty level were uninsured. For the first six months of 2015, 26.6 percent of poor, 23.9 percent of near-poor and 7.5 percent of not-poor adults were uninsured. The uninsured rate declined among all three groups since 2010, and the greatest decrease was among poor or near-poor adults.

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