CDC Data Show U.S. Uninsured Rate Hit New Low of 9%

The U.S. uninsured rate reached a new low of 9%, or about 28.5 million people, during the first six months of 2015, according to a CDC survey released Thursday, The Hill reports.

That rate is down from 14.4% of U.S. residents who were uninsured in 2013 and 11.5% who were uninsured in 2014, according to The Hill (Sullivan, The Hill, 11/5).

For the survey, CDC's National Center for Health Statistics asked about 54,000 U.S. residents between January and June whether they were insured (Radnofsky, Wall Street Journal, 11/5).

According to the survey, 16.3 million U.S. residents have gained health coverage since 2013 (The Hill, 11/5).

The percentage of individuals younger than 65 who reported enrolling in health plans through the Affordable Care Act's exchanges increased from 2.5% at the end of 2014 to 4% during the second quarter of 2015, the survey found. That percentage equates to about 10.7 million exchange enrollees, according to the Journal (Wall Street Journal, 11/5).

States that expanded their Medicaid programs under the ACA saw their uninsured rates drop from 18% in 2013 to 10% in 2015, the survey noted. Meanwhile, states that have not expanded Medicaid saw their uninsured rates drop from 22% in 2013 to 16% this year (The Hill, 11/5).