In what is likely a sign that ObamaCare is extending health insurance to more Americans as intended, the uninsured rate fell markedly to start the year, according to Gallup data released Monday. In a little more than six months, the percentage of Americans without insurance has fallen to 15.9, down from the record high of 18 percent Gallup recorded last year.
More from Gallup:
The uninsured rate for almost every major demographic group has dropped in 2014 so far. The percentage of uninsured Americans with an annual household income of less than $36,000 has dropped the most — by 2.8 percentage points — to 27.9 percent since the fourth quarter of 2013, while the percentage of uninsured blacks has fallen 2.6 points to 18.3 percent. Hispanics remain the subgroup most likely to lack health insurance, with an uninsured rate of 37.9 percent. [Gallup]
In other words, demographics with some of the highest uninsured rates — the very demographics ObamaCare is intended to benefit most — are seeing significant improvements in their rates of coverage.
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Now, it's still too early to peg all of the drop on the health care law. But the clear trend over the past few months strongly points to the fact that ObamaCare is indeed reducing the number of people without coverage. A continuation of that trend will only make the link that much stronger. And that's why Democrats aren't, despite what Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) may say, in any rush to abandon the law: As it begins to take hold, and more people get covered, support for the law could well become an asset for Democrats.
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