Employee benefit offerings and private insurance policies have helped to lower the nation's uninsured rate, based on newly released polling information.
Through the first one-and-a-half months of the first quarter of 2014, the uninsured rate dropped to 16 percent, down from just over 17 percent in the final three month period of 2013, according to Gallup.
Jenna Levy, a consulting specialist for the world renowned polling survey research company, indicated that if the rate of decline continues at its present pace, it could reach a low not seen since 2008, when the uninsured level was approximately 14 percent.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, when signed into law in 2010, stipulated that individuals up to age 26 could remain on their parents' plans. That appears to be one of the reasons why more young people are covered, as this age group has traditionally been the one that's least likely to have coverage, the Gallup report indicated. Among 18-to-25-year-olds, the uninsured rate dropped from 25 percent to 23 percent. Meanwhile, for 26- to 34-year-olds, the level went from 30 percent to just under 26 percent.
The age segment that's most likely to have insurance are the elderly. Gallup revealed that the uninsured rate among men and women 65 and older was just 2 percent, down from 3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013.
According to recently released statistics from the White House, more than 3 million people have enrolled in a qualified health insurance plan since October, when the ACA enrollment period began. Recently, Chicago Sen. Dick Durbin told CBS' Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation" that 10 million people were now covered thanks to the health reform law. The Washington Post, however, debunked this statement shortly thereafter.
