87M Adults Were Uninsured or Underinsured in 2018, Survey Says
MORE AMERICANS ARE insured than in the past, but millions are enrolled in skimpy health plans that often keep them from seeking care, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. Researchers estimate that in 2018, 45 percent of working-age adults , or 87 million people, were either under insured or had no coverage for at least part of the last year – a share that is essentially unchanged from 2010, despite monumental shifts in health policy during that time. The Affordable Care Act, which was enacted in 2010 and saw key provisions put in effect in 2014, expanded Medicaid eligibility and subsidized coverage for millions of Americans who were low-income or didn't have access to health insurance through their employers, but largely left employer-based coverage alone. Nearly 20 million people gained access to health coverage as a result. Yet the country also is now grappling with a larger pool of people who are under insured – meanin...