New Obamacare numbers: 16.4 million covered

[Street Knowledge]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/16/politics/obamacare-numbers-16-million-insured-rate/
Washington (CNN)About 16.4 million people have gained health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act became law nearly five years ago, according to government estimates releasedMonday.

The coverage gains have delivered the largest drop in the uninsured rate in four decades, bringing that rate down to 13.2% by the end of the first quarter of 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday. That's down from about 20% before the health insurance marketplaces launched in late 2013.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said the numbers prove "the Affordable Care Act is working, and families, businesses and taxpayers are better off as a result."

Burwell credited the drop to key provisions of Obama's signature health reform law, from the expansion of Medicaid to new tax credits and a provision allowing young people under 26 to stay on their parents' health care plans.

About 2.3 million of the 16.4 million who have gained coverage under Obamacare are adults under 26 who were able to remain on their parents' plan.

Obamacare delivered the biggest gains among Latinos, for whom the uninsured rate fell by 12.3% since the first enrollment period in Oct. 2013. The uninsured rate among Latinos remains the highest, though, with about 29.5% of Latinos lacking health coverage.

The uninsured rate among African-Americans has been nearly halved -- dropping to 13.2% from 22.4% -- and 5% more white Americans are now insured.

The health insurance law has remained a lightning rod among Republicans and conservatives who continue to slam the law as a government overreach.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the latest challenge to Obamacare this summer -- about three years after the Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional. The latest challenge specifically tackles subsidies under the law.

Republicans in Congress have vowed to fight for the law's repeal, but in the face of Democratic opposition to a full repeal and the threat of President Barack Obama's veto, it is all but certain the law will remain through Obama's presidency.

 

[Robbie3000]

It wasn't my ideal choice,I wanted a public option, but more people getting coverage and a slowdown in healthcare inflation is always welcome.

 

[88m3]

goat marxist, goat muslim

 

[CHL]

goat marxist, goat muslim

 

[hashmander]

"The uninsured rate among African-Americans has been nearly halved -- dropping to 13.2% from 22.4% -- and 5% more white Americans are now insured."

never say he did nothing for black people other than be an inspiration for the youngins. the did nothing style comments are especially galling from people who lionize clinton.

 

[tru_m.a.c]

"The uninsured rate among African-Americans has been nearly halved -- dropping to 13.2% from 22.4% -- and 5% more white Americans are now insured."

never say he did nothing for black people other than be an inspiration for the youngins. the did nothing style comments are especially galling from people who lionize clinton.

that "never did nothing" argument was always based on a faulty premise that his actions didn't count because he didn't do anything specifically for black people and black people only

 

[hashmander]

and like he said in the vice interview, he can take actions that help poor people in general and as a consequence it will help blacks, but if you target specific people then there won't be the general buy in that you need to move legislation. as it is now poor whites benefit and there isn't much buy in from them. i think the only reason hispanics don't follow suit is because the republicans are so openly hostile to them.

it's funny to think that all the major legislation was done in the first 2 years and since then it's basically been nothing from a congressional perspective.

 

[boskey]

that "never did nothing" argument was always based on a faulty premise that his actions didn't count because he didn't do anything specifically for black people and black people only

Yup its based largely on his single issue support for gay folks and latinos...gay marriage and immigration, being described as "Obama bending over backwards to help everyone but black people" . But Black people really don't have a single issue

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

goat marxist, goat muslim

GOAT Atheist

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

and like he said in the vice interview, he can take actions that help poor people in general and as a consequence it will help blacks, but if you target specific people then there won't be the general buy in that you need to move legislation. as it is now poor whites benefit and there isn't much buy in from them. i think the only reason hispanics don't follow suit is because the republicans are so openly hostile to them.

it's funny to think that all the major legislation was done in the first 2 years and since then it's basically been nothing from a congressional perspective.

he actually answers this in full:

http://grantland.com/features/barack-obama-selma-50th-anniversary/




REMBERT BROWNE:
Mr. President, so since you were — since I was in college, which is when you were elected, I’ve watched everything you’ve had to go through — jumping through hoops, going over hurdles, everything. And there’s been a common notion amongst my peers — peers who were very interested in getting into politics, being politicians, even that — this idea of if Barack Obama can’t say or do what we think he wants to say or do as President, then could any of us ever do that if we get into politics, be it about Ferguson, about gay rights — any of these things where we feel we know what he wants to say, but he can’t really do it at that moment.

Is that a sentiment that you are commonly aware of? And does it at all inform kind of how you want to wrap up your presidency? And I guess if you were trying to advise someone in this climate that wanted to make some change or have an immediate impact, would you advise them into getting into politics?





OBAMA:
Well, I mean, let me say a couple things about that. First of all, one of the things I’m very proud about, from the time that I ran for the U.S. Senate to me running for President to being President is I’ve said what I meant. I haven’t engaged in a lot of editing. Now, I don’t always say it the way I might say it if I’m sitting over at the dinner table with Michelle. I might not say it the way I say it if I’m on the basketball court with some of my buddies. But the trajectory of what I’ve said, what I care about around policy, I haven’t had to bite my tongue. I think that’s a mistake.

A lot of times where this comes up in the African-American community has been the notion of, well, he hasn’t just said this is racist, or he hasn’t just called out what somebody did, or he hasn’t specifically talked about why the African American community as opposed to poor folks or middle-class folks generally need help, and hasn’t targeted enough the racial problems in this country. And I’ve answered that publicly as well, which is I am the President of all people, and if I pass legislation that is boosting their income tax credit for low-income workers, I know by definition that African Americans will be disproportionately helped by that.

The notion that I would describe that as a bill targeting African-Americans not only does not get — help it get passed, but it also then ignores all the white folks who are also struggling, and all the Hispanic folks who are also struggling. And my job is to build coalitions of like-minded people who care about the same issues I care about.

When it comes to issues of racial justice around — that are very specific around criminal justice, whether it’s Trayvon or Ferguson or other circumstances, I have been very forward-leaning, with the exception that I have not commented on active investigations or potential prosecutions. The reason for that is not because I’m self-editing, the reason is the formal role I have. Eric Holder is my boss — or I am Eric Holder’s boss. The prosecutors who are investigating the cases report to Eric Holder, and if it looks like I’m putting thumbs on the scale, that can have an adverse impact on the resolution of these cases.

Now, to go to young people generally, and how they might think about public service, I don’t think that politics is the only way to serve. You can write a great book. You start a wonderful business. You start a non-profit. You’re a principal or a teacher inside a school that’s doing a great job. Those are all meaningful ways of advancing the cause.

But we can’t ignore politics. That’s how we make determinations about our institutional arrangements in this society. That’s how resources get allocated. That’s how we decide whether a school gets money or a young person gets a student loan, or a young private gets sent to war and how he or she is treated when they come back, or whether we’re going to protect our seniors from economic insecurity when they retire. Those are all political issues, and to avoid them makes no sense.

And the notion that there are going to be times where you have to compromise in politics suggests that you don’t have to compromise at Grantland, or you don’t have to compromise as a businessperson. That’s more a reflection of young people, thinking you can do whatever you want. The truth of the matter is, is that we live in a society where you got to work with others and not everybody is going to agree with you all the time. And the more your influence expands, the more a diverse set of people you’re going to have to deal with. That’s a skillset you’re going to need no matter what.

 

[hashmander]

i read that article yesterday. now that i think about it, that's where i got the info from, not vice. he's just had so many different interviews lately that i didn't remember which was the source of that nugget.