Despite the Affordable Care Act providing millions of Americans coverage since 2010, there are still a great deal of uninsured Americans. Kaiser Family Foundation recently found there are 27 million uninsured Americans. Bloomberg provides a snapshot into this population and how the government plans to bring in new ACA enrollees.
Here are six thoughts:
1. Of the Americans who did not purchase coverage, 50 percent cited cost as the primary barrier to obtaining coverage. Only 11 percent said they attempted to get coverage but were unable to do so.
2. Adults between the ages of 26 and 34 were the largest uninsured group, which is unsurprising as many in this cohort are segueing off of their parents' insurance and may lack the capital to buy it on their own.
3. A large portion of the uninsured population have low incomes, with almost 7 million people making less than the poverty level and many living in one of the 19 states that opted to not expand Medicaid. Another 3 million of the uninsured population do not qualify for subsidies due to their income exceeding the threshold, nearly $96,000 for a family of four.
4. Undocumented immigrants comprise 20 percent of the uninsured population, many of which reside in California, Florida and New Jersey.
5. More than 15 million uninsured residents are not eligible for financial assistance to get coverage, which leaves 11.7 million Americans eligible for government aid. Of these 11.7 million people, 6.4 million can sign up for Medicaid, children's programs or some state-funded programs for immigrants. The remaining 5.3 million could obtain tax subsidies to help decrease the cost of insurance.
6. The government is targeting 11.7 million Americans eligible for these program and tax subsidies when open enrollment opens on Nov. 1. The government plans to launch an outreach strategy that uses advertising to encourage Americans to sign up for coverage.
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