20 Million People Have Gained Health Insurance Coverage Because of the Affordable Care Act, New Estimates Show

Press Release

A new report released today finds that the provisions of the Affordable Care Act have resulted in an estimated 20 million people gaining health insurance coverage between the passage of the law in 2010 and early 2016--an historic reduction in the uninsured. Those provisions include Medicaid expansion, Health Insurance Marketplace coverage, and changes in private insurance that allow young adults to stay on their parent's health insurance plans and require plans to cover people with pre-existing health conditions.

The report's model controls for general economic conditions (i.e., employment status), preexisting trends, geographic location, and demographic changes, so its estimates focus on the decline in the number of uninsured Americans specifically associated with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

"Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 20 million Americans have gained health care coverage," said HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. "We have seen progress in the last six years that the country has sought for generations. Americans with insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace or through their employers have benefited from better coverage and a reduction in the growth in health care costs."

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