Obamacase Supporters (Photo : Reuters)
The Health and Human Services (HHS) department of the United States has released a new report showing that the Affordable Care Act has covered more whites than blacks and Latinos combined. However, the rate of uninsured Americans is dropping faster among minority groups than among those of European descent.
The report was released on September 22, Tuesday. It shows that Obamacare has covered about 7.4 million white Americans since it was implemented in October 2013 through programs such as Medicaid, according to Talking Points Memo. The figure was 4 million Latino-Americans and 2.6 blacks during that period, yet the rate of uninsured people is higher among minorities than whites.
The rate of uninsured whites dropped 6 percentage points from 14.3 percent to 8.3 percent. Meanwhile, the figure plummeted 11.5 percentage points from 41.8 percent to 30.3 percent among Hispanics. Finally, the rate declined 10.3 percentage points from 22.4 percent to 12.1 percent among black Americans.
Sylvia Burwell is the HHS Secretary. She said that all Americans have the chance to find affordable and quality health care.
Due to the Affordable Care Act health insurance now covers 17.6 million more Americans, according to Business Insider. That is 1.2 million higher than a previous estimate.
Various factors have caused the drop in uninsured Americans. They include the expansion of Medicaid, the sale of subsidized health insurance, and the ability of young people to remain on their parents' health care plans for longer periods.
The Affordable Care Act's third open enrollment will launch on November 1. It was originally the Affordable Health Care for America Act, but was passed in the Senate as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and then ammended by the House of Representatives.
This video is about the passing of Obamacare:
