August 28, 2017 - 9:03 PM
WASHINGTON - The government says about 500,000 fewer Americans had no health insurance the first three months of this year, but that slight dip was not statistically significant from the same period in 2016.
Progress reducing the number of uninsured appears to have stalled in the last couple of years, and a separate private survey that measured through the first half of 2017 even registered an uptick.
Tuesday's report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 28.1 million uninsured from January-March, or 8.8 per cent of the population. That compares to 48.6 million people — or 16 per cent of Americans — when the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 under former President Barack Obama.
With Republicans still talking of repealing "Obamacare," it's unclear if insurance gains will be maintained or reversed.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017