New Survey: More Americans Are Underinsured; Rate Increased Most for Those in Employer Plans
A new Commonwealth Fund survey offering a big-picture look at health insurance coverage in America eight years after passage of the Affordable Care Act finds that the uninsured rate among adults 19 to 64 for 2018 was 12.4 percent, statistically unchanged from 2016 — despite actions taken by the Trump administration and Congress to weaken the Affordable Care Act.
Since 2010, more people have health insurance, the survey finds, but a higher share of U.S. adults are “underinsured,” meaning they have high health plan deductibles and out-of-pocket medical expenses relative to their income. The greatest growth in the underinsured rate has occurred among Americans in employer-based health plans, while those who bought plans on their own through the individual market or the marketplaces were the most likely overall to be underinsured, according to an analysis by the Commonwealth Fund’s Sara Collins, Herman Bhupal, and Michelle Doty.
Survey respondents who were either underinsured or experienced a period last year when they were without any coverage reported cost-related problems getting care or difficulty paying medical bills at higher rates than individuals with adequate, continuous coverage.
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