Dive Brief:
- According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the U.S. uninsured rate dropped from 15% in March to 13.4% in April, falling to its lowest point since January 2008.
- The uninsured rate has fallen consistently since it peaked at 18% in Q3 2013, reports Becker's Hospital Review.
- The uninsured rate for people in low income households — those earning less than $36,000 annually — dropped 5.5% to 25.2%. Meanwhile, 18-to-25-year-olds saw a 4.5% drop in the uninsured rate, to 19%.
Dive Insight:
Actually, these drops in uninsured rates reflect the surge in health insurance sign-ups that took place as the first open enrollment period for the ACA closed, according to Gallup. Gallup analysis suggests that going forward, the uninsured rate could decline more, go up or level off depending on several factors, including whether more states choose to expand Medicaid and how many people lose their ACA plans because they don't make the first payment.