Administration: 16M gained health coverage under ObamaCare

More than 16 million people have gained health insurance because of ObamaCare, leading to a 35 percent decline in the uninsured rate, according to an Obama administration analysis released Monday.

{mosads}Since the law’s major provisions took effect in 2013, the uninsured rate has fallen from 20.3 to 13.2 percent, the Department of Health and Human Services analysis, based on Gallup survey data, finds. 

The 16.4 million total includes 14.1 million adults and 2.3 million aged 19-25 who were able to stay on their parents’ plans and get insurance under the law.

The administration says it is the largest drop in the uninsured in four decades.

The analysis is the latest effort from the Obama administration to show that the health law is working as the Supreme Court weighs King v. Burwell, a case threatening subsidies for around 7.5 million people. 

“The evidence shows that the Affordable Care Act is working, and families, businesses and taxpayers are better off as a result,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a statement.

Dan Pfeiffer, recently retired as President Obama’s senior adviser, hit at potential 2016 Republican presidential contenders who oppose the law.

16 million Americans with insurance through the ACA means a dozen Republicans are running to return 16 million to the ranks of the uninsured

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 16, 2015

Burwell acknowledged that there is more work to be done on enrolling African-Americans and Latinos, a focus of the sign-up effort that stretched through the Feb. 15 deadline.

Those groups had larger drops in uninsured but still have significantly more uninsured people. Among African-Americans, the rate dropped from 22 to 13 percent, and among Latinos from 42 to 29 percent.

Burwell said that for African-Americans and Latinos, the statistics are “not probably exactly where you want to be because the numbers are still high.”

She noted that she hit the road to boost enrollment, including a stop at a largely African-American church in Texas, a Latino ad buy, and messages on receipts at 7-Elevens. 

“We did a lot of things to highly target those communities,” Burwell said. “I believe we can do more.”

“We tried a lot of things,” she added. “And now we have to analyze which ones work.”