Uninsured rate drops to lowest since 2008

The uninsured rate in the United States has dropped to the lowest level recorded by Gallup since January 2008, coinciding with the launch of ObamaCare.

A Gallup poll released Monday found the number of U.S. adults without health insurance dropped to 13.4 percent in April, down from 15 percent in March. 

After the uninsured rate peaked at 18 percent in the third quarter of 2013, the rate has dropped more than 4 percentage points. 

{mosads}The decline coincided with the opening of ObamaCare health insurance exchanges on Oct.1 last year and the March 31 deadline to enroll. The deadline was later extended to April 15 for those who had trouble signing up.

Among the demographics, the uninsured rate fell more for blacks than any other group, falling 7.1 percentage points to 13.8 percent. 

The uninsured rate remains high for Hispanics at 33.2 percent, but that’s down 5.5 percentage points since the end of last year. 

The rate has fallen 5.5 percentage points since then among lower-income adults in the U.S. to 25.2 percent.

The uninsured rate fell 4.5 percentage points among 18-to-25-year-olds to 19 percent. Obama administration officials specifically targeted young people with the healthcare law.

Gallup’s poll comes just days after the administration released a report that revealed more than 8 million people have signed up for insurance on the ObamaCare exchanges through April 19. 

The poll was based on more than 14,700 interviews from April 1-30. The margin of error is plus or minus 1 percentage point.