ObamaCare Enrollment Hits 20 million as of March 2016


20 Million covered under ACA

Roughly 20 million Americans have been covered under the ACA’s coverage provisions between Medicaid, the Marketplace, and children staying on their parents plan since 2010.

The 20 million figure was quoted by President Obama in July, but is likely referring to a March update. The last detailed report was a September 2015 government estimate that 17.6 million Americans had been insured as a result of the Affordable Care Act (so the update is noted a roughly 2.4 million increase, we estimate this would be mostly from Medicaid and the Marketplace).

The recent announcement by Barack Obama as part of an effort to remind people that repealing the ACA means 20 million less Americans without coverage (i.e. one of the many reasons “why Hillary”).

These numbers make sense given the statistics we have seen, and are confirmed by recent press releases and editorials including: Statement by the President on the Sixth Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and the President’s expert editorial in JAMA in which the President doubled down on the public option.

Here are some facts from a March 3, 2016 HHS.Gov press release:

  • 6.1 million uninsured young adults ages 19 to 25 have gained health insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act
  • 2.3 million young adults gained coverage from 2010 through the start of Open Enrollment in October 2013 due to the provision that allows people under age 26 to stay on their parents’ plan
  • An additional 3.8 million young adults gained coverage between October 2013 and early 2016, a 46.5 percent drop in the number of uninsured young adults over that period.

Gains in coverage because of the Affordable Care Act were strong across all racial and ethnic groups between October 2013 and early 2016.

  • The uninsured rate among Black non-Hispanics dropped by more than 50 percent (from 22.4 to 10 percent); corresponding to about 3 million adults gaining coverage.
  • The uninsured rate among Hispanics dropped by more than 25 percent (from 41.8 to 30.5 percent), corresponding to about 4 million Hispanic adults gaining coverage.
  • The uninsured rate among White non-Hispanics declined by more than 50 percent (from 14.3 to 7.0 percent), corresponding to about 8.9 million adults gaining coverage.

Author: Thomas DeMichele

Thomas DeMichele is the head writer and founder of ObamaCareFacts.com, FactsOnMedicare.com, and other websites. He has been in the health insurance and healthcare information field since 2012. ObamaCareFacts.com is a...

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the reason you probably get some skepticism on your numbers is because the site is affiliated with Obamacare, and because politics have infiltrated any discussion of Obamacare. For example, a factor that is true, but seldom is mentioned is that the “newly covered” who were stuck in Medicaid were covered by Obamacare only in the sense that it provided lot of the extra cost to the states, a cost subsidy which will be decreasing under its Obamacare’s provisions. So characterizing new MediCaird recipients as receiving beneifits from Obamacare is somewhat misleading because it just provides for extra funding, with Medicaid funding coming through a different revenue stream.
mandated provisions is misleading.

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You fail to address how many people were insured before ACA and lost that coverage. ACA rules made it more economical for employers to drop coverage or raise employee costs. This is clearly evidenced in the chart.

Also, this chart shows a simply uncreditable, sudden drop in the most recent history. It’s obvious you get that result by counting the President’s statements as if they were actual results rather than political speechifying.

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The number of new people that have health insurance, thru Obamacare, does that include their children & spouses in that total?

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How many gained coverage as a result of the employer mandate? Checking many sources and have not been able to get a solid answer on this.

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That’s a really good question. It doesn’t appear that it is having any significant effect on the number of insured largely because of the Family Affordability Glitch, states with low minimum wages have many who don’t make enough to file (and thus are exempt from the requirement to have insurance), and because anyone whose only insurance options are more than 8.13% of the income are able to file for an affordability exemption from the requirement to have insurance or owe the fee. Others simply decline employer insurance and pay the fee even if they can’t get an exemption because the fee for not having insurance may still be less than the cost of insurances they are eligible for.

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How many gained coverage as a result of the employer mandate?

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How many of the 20 million went on Medicaid?

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Of the 20 million, how many of the 20 million are on Medicaid?

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