The number of Americans under age 65 who do not have health insurance is lower today than it was all the way back in 1972, reports the National Center for Health Statistics, despite a 46 percent increase in the population under age 65.
As recently as 2013, the percentage of the population under age 65 without health insurance was the same as in 1972—so, in four decades no progress had been made in expanding insurance coverage. Enter the Affordable Care Act, with marketplace plans up and running by January 2014, an effort that finally moved the needle. The percentage of Americans under age 65 who did not have health insurance fell from 16.7 percent in 2013 to the all-time low of 10.6 percent in 2015.
Number (and percent) of population under age 65 without health insurance
2015: 28.7 million (10.6%)
1972: 30.7 million (16.7%)
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, Long-Term Trends in Health Insurance Coverage
No comments:
Post a Comment