Federal study: Uninsured rate down 2 points from 2013

The percentage of Americans who lacked health insurance in the first three months of this year is down 2 points from the same period last year, according to a federal study released Tuesday that fueled Democrats’ claims that Obamacare is working.

The National Health Interview Survey found the rate of uninsured along those ages 18 to 64 dropped from 20.4 percent in 2013 to 18.4 percent in 2014.

Federal researchers reported a significant drop among adults aged 19-25, from 26.5 percent to 20.9 percent, a coveted group among insurers because they tend to be healthy.

Health insurance sign-ups under the Affordable Care Act launched last fall, with the law’s main coverage provisions taking hold at the dawn of 2014.

Obamacare expands access to health insurance in two key ways — it allows eligible persons to pick a private health plan on a state based exchange, often with the help of income-based government subsidies, and extends Medicaid to those making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level in states that choose to expand their programs.

Democrats held up Tuesday’s figures as proof the health care law is working as intended.

Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said his Republican colleagues may have anecdotes about people who had a hard time with Obamacare, but those are “stories.”

“Data and information tells us something fundamentally different,” he said.

Republican foes have said Obamacare is bound to fail and offers coverage that is lackluster, featuring high deductibles and narrow doctor networks. They also argue that statistical gains were achieved by force, as government mandates forced many people to acquire insurance, and that premiums will rise for most people next year.

Among persons younger than 65, about 165 million, or 61.8 percent, held private health coverage at the time federal researchers interviewed them between January and March, according to the new study.

That included 3.7 million who found their coverage through the new Obamacare marketplace.

Although the study offers a window into how Obamacare is shaping the health insurance landscape, its figures may already be outdated.

The law’s initial sign-up period lasted until mid-April, and some people will qualify for a special enrollment period that lets them sign up before open enrollment begins again in mid-November.

Medicaid enrollment is performed on a rolling basis, and not limited to set sign-up periods.

While that may cause the ranks of insured Americans to rise, some people may be losing their coverage for failure to pay premiums or other reasons.

On Monday, the Obama administration announced that 115,000 people would received cancellation notices at the end of the month for failing to resolve immigration and citizenship status discrepancies on their Obamacare applications by the Sept. 5 deadline.