Census: Uninsured rate drops to 10.4% in 2014

An estimated 33 million U.S. residents lacked health insurance in 2014, a decline of 2.9 percentage points or 8.8 million people, the Census Bureau reported today. That’s the largest percentage-point decline since 2008. Several Affordable Care Act provisions took effect in 2014, including the expansion of Medicaid eligibility and the launch of the Health Insurance Marketplaces. Coverage rates increased 3.2 percentage points for direct-purchase health insurance, 2 percentage points for Medicaid, and 0.3 percentage point for Medicare. Coverage also increased for all racial and Hispanic-origin groups and all age groups except 65 and over. Hispanics had the highest uninsured rate at 19.9%. The report is based on the Current Population Survey and American Community Survey and includes comparisons with one year earlier. Local results from the ACS will be released tomorrow.