ICYMI: Federal Data Shows Building on Our Current System is Working

WASHINGTON – The latest figures reported by the federal government show that our current system, where private plans and public programs work together, is increasing access to affordable, high-quality health coverage and care.

• Axios reports that the “[p]andemic didn’t lead to spike in uninsured.”
  • “Roughly 8.6% of Americans didn’t have health insurance in 2020, a figure that has stayed consistent since 2018, Axios reports from the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.”
  • “Government assistance, in the form of beefed-up Medicaid eligibility and heavily subsidized plans through the Affordable Care Act, kept people insured despite the pandemic-fueled recession.”

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released a report showing that more than 2.8 million Americans gained access to affordable health care during the 2021 Special Enrollment Period.
  • There are now 12.2 million Americans enrolled in the federals and state marketplaces.

• Most Americans are satisfied with their current coverage and prefer to build on and improve what’s working in health care rather than start over.
  • The August 2021 edition of Voter Vitals – a nationwide tracking poll conducted by Locust Street Group for the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future – shows that 64 percent of voters prefer building on our current system rather than creating the public option, and 67 percent prefer building on our current system instead of opening up Medicare. (Voter Vitals, 8/21)
  • The vast majority of voters with health insurance coverage (76 percent) are satisfied with their coverage, the survey finds. (Voter Vitals, 8/21)