The consistent downward trend in the uninsured rate that Gallup has been reporting for the past four years has reversed itself, and it’s on the rise again under the Trump regime.
The percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance rose slightly in the first quarter of 2017, to 11.3%. The uninsured rate was 10.9% in each of the last two quarters of 2016, a record low since Gallup and Healthways began tracking insurance coverage in 2008. […]
The healthcare legislation debate remains unsettled, and it is unclear how soon President Trump and Congress will attempt to pass revised legislation. Several insurers have announced that they are abandoning some health exchanges in 2018, suggesting that coverage options could diminish and premiums could surge in the near future in some states.
The slight rise in the number of uninsured Americans in the first quarter of 2017 could, in part, be attributable to the uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of the Affordable Care Act. As such, it will be important to monitor the uninsured trends in the coming months as these events unfold. If coverage options and premiums do change, members of Congress from both parties may show a renewed urgency to address the healthcare issue.
This was inevitable, and the increase will just continue to tick upward as uncertainty about Obamacare's future—and Trumpcare chaos—continues. Even if they don't manage to repeal and replace with Trumpcare (resulting in 14 million people becoming uninsured in the next year), the uncertainty will mean insurers leave the markets and people lose their coverage—or don't enroll in the first place because they think it's going to end soon, anyway.
Every person who becomes uninsured from now on? Trump is personally responsible.