Estimates of the numbers of uninsured Americans have always varied widely depending upon the definitions used. As of June of 2014 and the completion of the first open enrollment period for ObamaCare a firm count on the numbers of insured and uninsured Americans is yet to be announced. After all the effort, expense and turmoil associated with the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) the initial indications are that we have slightly reduced the number of uninsured Americans. A poll released in April, 2014 indicates that the uninsured rate declined from a peak of approximately 18% in the summer of 2013 (which was the high point since the start of the recession in 2008 - the overall average uninsured rate for the 2008 through 2013 period was more in the 16% to 16.5% range) to approximately 15.6% at the end of the first quarter of 2014. This represented about a 1.5% decrease in the uninsured population from January 1, 2014 (17.1%) to the end of March, 2014 and our uninsured rate remains above the level that existed before the 2008 financial crisis.
Assuming that we have a population of approximately 320 million in the United States, my math would indicate that leaves close to 50 million uninsured Americans. The number I hear and see used most often states that there are still more than 30 million Americans without health insurance. I can't reconcile the different numbers but what is clear is that our efforts to insure every American have fallen significantly short of the stated objective.
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Assuming that we have a population of approximately 320 million in the United States, my math would indicate that leaves close to 50 million uninsured Americans. The number I hear and see used most often states that there are still more than 30 million Americans without health insurance. I can't reconcile the different numbers but what is clear is that our efforts to insure every American have fallen significantly short of the stated objective.