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Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024

Have record levels of Americans been covered by health insurance during the Biden administration?

Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin Watch

yes

The rate of Americans without health insurance hit record lows in 2022 and 2023 by different measures.

The number of nonelderly uninsured individuals (25.6 million) and their uninsured rate (9.6%) reached record lows in 2022, the health policy organization KFF reported in December 2023.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department reported that the uninsured rate for all U.S. residents reached an all-time low of 7.2% in the second quarter of 2023. The figure increased to 8.2% in the first quarter of 2024.

The historic lows were due to federal coverage policies during the COVID-19 pandemic and states expanding Medicaid eligibility, the research group Commonwealth Fund reported.

The requirement that states keep people on Medicaid during the public health emergency ended in April 2023. Some 360,000 Wisconsin residents lost coverage.

President Joe Biden claimed Aug. 19, 2024, at the Democratic National Convention that more Americans than ever have health insurance.

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