Study: Latinos, Low-Income Adults Are Groups Most Likely to Be Uninsured Post-ACA
<p>As the number of people in the U.S. without health insurance has declined since the Affordable Care Act went into effect, the composition of the uninsured population has changed, a new Commonwealth Fund survey finds.</p><p>According to the report <em>Who Are the Remaining Uninsured and Why Haven’t They Signed Up for Coverage?,</em> white adults now represent a smaller share of the uninsured population and Latinos a larger share. Most of those who still lack coverage are Latino, make less than $16,000 a year, are under age 35, or work for a small business. And half live in one of the 20 states that had not yet expanded Medicaid at the time of the survey.</p>
<p>"About 26 million Americans have gained coverage through the ACA’s marketplaces and Medicaid expansion," said The Commonwealth Fund’s Sara Collins, the report’s lead author. "However, millions of people still don’t have health insurance. That means they are likely to go without the health care they need and are at risk of medical debt or bankruptcy if they get sick."</p>
<p>State and federal policies, lower awareness of the health insurance marketplaces, and concerns about affordability and eligibility are the primary reasons people remained uninsured.</p>