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Minding the Gap: ACA’s Remaining Uninsured

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has already significantly reduced the number of uninsured people in the United States. Several recent studies, while varying in the precise measure of the impact, all point to the same trend: since implementation of the ACA, the rate of uninsured adults has decreased by two to five percent, meaning as many as ten million previously uninsured adults now have health coverage. According to a report published by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this trend is likely to continue. The CBO projects that by the end of 2017, the ACA will have provided health coverage for 26 million people.

While the number of newly insured is impressive and has far exceeded some initial projections for year one of the ACA, millions of people still remain without health coverage. Precise estimates of the number of uninsured vary, but range from 14% to 18% of non-elderly adults, or as many as 36 million people. These remaining uninsured generally fall into two categories: those who are eligible for coverage but not enrolled, and those who don’t qualify under the ACA or other existing programs.

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