16.9 Million Americans Gained Coverage From September 2013 To February 2015 //Health Affairs Web First

 The Affordable Care Act has had an enormous impact increasing the number of people with health insurance.   Despite this advance the U.S. Supreme Court is now considering the Burwell case which could deny coverage to millions now insured.  And 16 % of the population remains uninsured.  Millions  remain without health care because Republican Governors and legislators refuse to accept federal aid to expand Medicaid.  Complicit in that are liberal Justices Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer who accepted arguments that states should not be "forced"to expand medicaid coverage. Such federalism concerns in my opinion are entirely frivolous because the equal protection of the laws principle should be read to trump state resistance to such measures. - gwc
Health Affairs Web First: 16.9 Million Americans Gained Coverage From September 2013 To February 2015

by Lucy Larner

From September 2013 to February 2015, when the second open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ended, the number of US uninsured dropped from 42.7 million to 25.8 million, according to a new Health Affairs Web First study that will also appear in the June issue of Health Affairs.  

During the study period, 22.8 million people gained coverage while 5.9 million lost coverage, for a net increase of 16.9 million people gaining insurance. Overall, the number gaining coverage was more than three times as large as the number of people losing coverage. Most who gained coverage did so between September 2013 and May 2014. The study also found that among the 22.8 million who gained insurance, most enrolled in employer-sponsored insurance, which remains the largest source of insurance among Americans younger than 65.

Many also gained coverage through states that expanded eligibility for their Medicaid program; others purchased coverage through the federal and state health insurance Marketplaces. Of the 155.8 million Americans who were insured in September 2013, however, 80 percent experienced no change in insurance status or source of coverage during the study period. Despite substantial coverage gains, approximately 16 percent of the US population remains uninsured.

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