Uninsured Rate Swells to 11.3% in Q1

April 2017 ~

According to a recently released poll from Gallup-Healthways Well-Being, uninsured rate increased to 11.3% during the first quarter of 2017 from a record low of 10.9% in the last half of 2016.

The 11.3% rate set a record low since Gallup-Healthways began tracking insurance coverage in 2008. The group speculates that the difference in the insured numbers between this year and last could possibly be a result of consumers’ uncertainty around coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The index poll shows:

• The number of uninsured adults remains 6.7 percentage points lower than it did at its peak in the third quarter of 2013, at 18%;
• The total number of people signing up for ACA coverage through Healthcare.gov this past enrollment season dropped by 400,000 consumers (from 9.6 million last year to 9.2 million this year);
• The number of Americans in self-insured plans rose 3% since the last quarter of 2013;
• Medicaid showed the second-largest increase among insurance sources at 2%;
• Over 7% decline in uninsured adults aged 18 to 25, since 2013;
• A near 10-point drop in uninsured adults aged 26 to 34;
• Uninsured rates among Hispanics and lower-income Americans fell by 10.1 points since the last quarter of 2013.
• The uninsured rates for non-Hispanic black and white adults fell by 8% and 5%, respectively;
• The rate among lower-income adults dropped nearly 9%.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index results for the first quarter of 2017 are based on 44,596 interviews from Jan. 2 to March 31.

Source(s): HealthcareFinance News; HealthcareDIVE; Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index;