Poll: Nation's Uninsured Rate Hits Lowest Point Since 2008

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

DYLAN SCOTT – MAY 5, 2014, 9:20 AM EDT

The percentage of uninsured Americans in April hit its lowest point ever since Gallup began its monthly tracking poll in 2008.

The uninsured rate dropped to 13.4 percent in April, according to the Gallup poll released Monday, down from 15.6 percent in the first quarter of 2014 and a peak of 18 percent before Obamacare enrollment started in October.

The previous low recorded by Gallup was 14.4 percent in mid-2008.

The 4.6 percentage-point drop since Obamacare enrollment launched is the equivalent of 14.4 million people gaining insurance. The April results were based on a survey of 14,704 U.S. adults, conducted from April 1 to 30. Its margin of error was 1 percentage point.

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/gallup-uninsured-rate-may-all-time-low

[Le Taz Hot]

1. HAVING insurance

and BEING ABLE TO USE that insurance are two entirely different things. Once again, "health insurance" is NOT "heath care."

[Shivering Jemmy]

2. Health insurance gets me health care

Good enough for me.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. I'm happy for you.

"I got mine, too bad about you." Hmmm, where have I heard that attitude before? Lemme think . . .

[Shivering Jemmy]

4. I am happy for me as well

I am also pleased for those just like me who also now have health care insurance.

And you should be too. You should be overwhelmingly happy for them.

The only question that remains in this debate is whether you value winning it more than you value those who now have coverage.

So which is it?

[Le Taz Hot]

6. The issue I was trying to point out

is that lots of people signed up but can't actually afford to use it because of the high deductibles. That's the issue. Feel free to address it.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. O.k.

How about keeping you from going bankrupt? That helps too. ACA needs some work in terms of helping ensure the affordability of health care in general but insurance at least provides more security against being bankrupted by a major illness, not to mention the preventative benefits that the law provides that should *hopefully* help mitigate/minimize serious health conditions in the first place.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. Again, that was not my point.

You guys want to point to sunshine and lollipops and I truly am happy for those with health insurance that they are able to use. I just choose not to ignore the millions who can't actually use their insurance due to high deductibles.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. That's a problem with a lot of insurance in general

I have a HSA plan and can't really use it much and am swamped with a lot of medical bills myself. That is something that we need to start working on fixing in round two- bringing down the cost of health care- but, again, people now have access to more preventative care and won't necessarily go bankrupt if they have a major medical problem.

[Le Taz Hot]

9. I'm not denying that many people are much better off

with the advent and implementation of the ACA; however, we simply cannot forget that this is NOT health care, it is health insurance and yes, we need to do more. MUCH more to ensure that people get the CARE they need without going bankrupt. My husband and I joke and have concluded that, with the bronze plan, we'll be facing a small bankruptcy if, goddess forbid, something goes wrong as opposed to an apocalyptic bankruptcy.

[HockeyMom]

11. You are forgetting another factor

Or USE it. I was without health insurance for 4 years after I quit working. Actually the last year I worked I opted out of their health insurance because it was too intrusive for my beliefs. Mandatory Wellness Program. If you didn't comply with their FREE Wellness Program, you were penalized monetarily. Even after I quit, they kept sending me letters about COBRA and asking me to call them about it. Get lost. What don't you understand about former employee?

I now have Medicare, but my feelings have not changed. I don't care if I can get a free yearly medical exam, free Mammograms, free Colonoscrophy (???), flu shots, or free anything.

The only thing that I am happy about getting insurance is that I didn't have to pay any fines, or go shopping for some dumb Gold, Silver, or Bronze plan. I have often wondered with the compulsory health insurance, when will it become compulsory to "comply" (like that job) with USING it too? I hope I don't live to see that.

[Mondavi]

12. "Insurance isn't health care"

Exactly and the value of any "insurance" is to be determined in actual use.

[L0oniX]

10. Now we can ignore all those who have fallen between the cracks...

in the states that won't cover them with Medicaid ...like me and my wife.

[JoePhilly]

13. Why should we do that?