Does Obamacare Work? Uninsured Rate Declines Across The US As More People Enroll In Coverage

Despite President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to repeal Obamacare, more Americans are covered thanks to health care plans created through President Barak Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA). About 6.4 million people have enrolled in subsidized private coverage offered through Obamacare, the Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday.

The department said 400,000 more people signed up for Obamacare by Monday compared to the amount of U.S. residents who had already participated in open enrollment during this time last year.

Although premiums have risen while insurers have declined, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said the number of people enrolling in Obamacare proves that “doomsday predictions about the marketplace are not bearing out.”

Despite the rising number of people opting for coverage through the ACA, new customers still only account for 32-percent of those covered through Obamacare compared to 40-percent of new customers that had signed up around the holidays in 2015. The administration officials said they would focus more on getting new customers now through the end of open enrollment on Jan. 31, in effort to reach their 13.8 million sign-ups goal.

Even still, uninsured rates across all 50 states are on the decline as people currently enrolled in Obamacare plans are re-enrolling in coverage and beefing up their premiums, according to a Wednesday report from The Commonwealth Fund. Researchers found the number of uninsured working-aged adults, low-income adults and children had declined across state lines since 2014. Kentucky had the biggest drop in uninsured rates with only 8-percent of working-age adults and 13-percent of low-income adults without health care. In comparison, 21-percent of working-age adults and 38-percent of low-income adults didn’t have health coverage before full implementation of ACA’s health care provisions.

However, people covered by Obamacare could be in jeopardy considering Trump’s plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even though he has said there were some provisions he would consider keeping.

An Urban Institute analysis that compared the current structure of Obamacare to repeal bills presented by the Republican Party found that roughly 30 million people would lose insurance if Trump was to consider plans previously introduced by Republicans. Eighty-two percent of the people most affected by the repeal would be working families, 56-percent of which would be white.