Multiple legislative and administrative initiatives rolled out last year to extend affordable coverage seem to have paid off with the uninsurance rate in the third quarter of 2021 falling below pre-pandemic levels. A new report prepared by Office of Health Policy researchers says that the decline to 8.9% amid a raging pandemic can be attributed to the Marketplace special enrollment period, the American Rescue Plan, and state Medicaid expansions.
- 2.2% fall in kids uninsured rate: Researchers at the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation’s Office of Health Policy found that in Q3, the uninsured rate for children decreased more than for working-age adults (18-64). Children experienced a 2.2% decrease in uninsurance while working age adults experienced a 1.5% decline.
- Lower income group uninsurance down to 16.2%: The uninsurance rate among individuals with incomes below 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) declined steadily from 20.2% in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 16.2% in the third quarter of 2021. Individuals with income between 100-200% of the FPL, uninsurance dropped from 21.3% to 17.1%.
- Private sector gains more: According to the report, coverage gains were somewhat larger for the private sector (1% increase) than the public players (0.6% increase), with increases in both coverage types contributing to the overall decline in the uninsured rate.
- Factors behind the fall: The report said that despite the pandemic and economic challenges, the US uninsured rate has declined over the last 12 months of available data – primarily due to growth in private coverage and to a lesser extent public coverage. “Potential factors contributing to this stability in health coverage during the pandemic include months of strong economic recovery with record job growth, legislative and administrative actions to help Americans maintain and gain affordable coverage, and implementation of Medicaid expansion in additional states.”
- Multiple data studied: The researchers analyzed newly-released survey data from NHIS, employment information from the Department of Labor, and Marketplace enrollment information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO).