A new Gallup survey released Friday shows a marked uptick in the number of Americans without health insurance since the Trump administration took office—a reversal after years of decline and a historic record low under the Obama administration.
Since the end of 2016, the survey found, the uninsured rate has climbed 1.4 percentage points, from 10.9 percent to 12.3 percent, with roughly 3.5 million more Americans uninsured. The current uninsured rate is the highest since the end of 2014.
“Uncertainty about the healthcare law also may be driving the increase,” Gallup reported Friday, citing Congress’ repeated efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and uncertainty about the administration’s dedication to upholding the law.
The survey, based on interviews with more than 45,000 people, found that every age group except Medicare-eligible Americans older than 65 saw an increase in the percentage of the uninsured.
“The growth has been concentrated mostly among middle-aged Americans, racial minorities and lower-income Americans,” Gallup reported.
The biggest drop has been on the individual market, the sector most impacted by the Trump administration’s actions: from cutting outreach and education funding to cutting off cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers to rejecting state waivers.
Gallup noted that if Congress and the President do not pass and implement a bill introduced this week to fund and stabilize those markets, the number of uninsured Americans will continue to increase.
