Source: Pool / Getty
In the time since the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, went into effect, millions of Americans now have health insurance benefits, according to a federal government survey.
The survey, performed via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that 36 million people were uninsured on the day of the survey, marking a decline of 8.8 million people from the prior year.
The National Health Interview Survey highlighted that for adults aged 18-64, the numbers of uninsured decreased from 20.4 percent in 2013 to 16.3 percent in 2014. The numbers were especially favorable to young adults aged 19-25, with a decline of uninsured dropping from 26.5 percent in 2013 to 20 percent in 2014.
As noted by the Huffington Post, Obamacare has achieved marks in its short time despite heavy criticism from Republican-controlled Congress that has fought to upend the law. The battle for the law’s repeal has been intense, with the Supreme Court of the United States set to oversee a lawsuit brought by Republicans and Libertarians regarding health care expansion.
From the Huffington Post:
But as these new CDC data show, the Affordable Care Act is succeeding in its central aim of helping people obtain health insurance. The findings are consistent with numerous other surveys taken since last year, including recent Gallup polling that shows the uninsured rate continued to decline in 2015, the second year of enrollment through the Obamacare health insurance exchanges.
What the survey also highlighted was that states who accepted the law on its terms also saw the biggest decline in uninsured persons, while states that balked against Obamacare showed lesser results.
Medicaid, a huge sticking point of the law on both sides of the aisle, has been expanded by way of Obamacare after a 2012 Supreme Court decision. Medicaid benefits awarded to poor Americans were an option for states and thus far, 29 states and the District of Columbia have elected to go with the expansion.
SOURCE: Huffington Post, CDC | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
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