Number of uninsured Americans at all-time low

The uninsured rate among Americans has reached its lowest point ever, at just 9 percent, according to new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. The number of uninsured Americans has been declining since 2013, with 7.5 million fewer uninsured people than in 2014 and 16.3 million fewer than in 2013.

The report's estimates are based on data for 54,097 people. In addition to a huge drop in the number of uninsured Americans, the study also revealed that among adults ages 18-64, the percentage of uninsured decreased from 16.3 percent to 12.7 percent, and there was a corresponding increase in private coverage, from 67.3 percent to 70.6 percent.

Additionally, the report showed that for those younger than 65, the percentage with private coverage increased from 2.5 percent at the end of 2014 to 4 percent in the spring of 2015.

Much of the drop in the uninsured is most likely due to Medicaid expansion and state exchanges, with the uninsured rates dropping across all 50 states. Specifically, states that expanded Medicaid and implemented a state exchange or state-federal partnership experienced a 44 percent drop in the rate of uninsured from 2013 to the first half of 2015, compared to a 28 percent drop for states that implemented only one or neither, FierceHealthPayer reported previously.

The CDC is not the only organization to study the uninsured rates of Americans as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Researchers at the Urban Institute found in a report released this week that the rate of uninsured adults ages 18-64 nationwide dropped from 17.6 percent in September 2013 to 10.4 percent in September 2015, a 40.7 percent decrease.

To learn more:
- read the report (.pdf)