The uninsured rate hit a new low in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, since Gallup and Healthways started tracking it in 2008.
The uninsured rate among U.S. adults is now 11.9 percent — down one percentage point since last quarter and 5.2 points since the end of 2013, according to Gallup. The rate has been declining since it hit 18 percent in the third quarter of 2013, and as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act went into effect in 2014.
Groups of uninsured that have declined most since 2013 include lower-income Americans earning less than $36,000 annual household income (8.7 points down), Hispanics (8.3 points), African Americans (7.3 points) and Americans ages 26 to 34 years old (7.4 points).
Gallup also notes that the uninsured rate is below 2008's rate, which was before the economy tanked, suggesting improvements in the economy are not the only reason for the decline in uninsured adults.
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