“On September 12, the Census Bureau will release estimates of the number of Americans with and without health insurance coverage in 2011, based on its annual Current Population Survey. Other survey data and historical trends provide clues as to what the Census data are likely to show. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that in 2011, the number of uninsured Americans fell for the first time in four years. These data further suggest that federal policies were responsible for the gains in coverage. The largest increase in coverage, according to the CDC data, occurred among young adults, a group benefiting from an Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision allowing adult children up to age 26 to stay on their parents private insurance plans. Childrens coverage also held steady, due to continued enrollment gains in Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which were bolstered by a federal requirement that states maintain their eligibility rules and procedures for Medicaid and CHIP. In contrast, private health coverage among adults between 26 and 64 years old – a group for whom the major ACA coverage expansions are not yet in effect – continued to decline, marking the fourth consecutive year of a decline in the coverage rate for this group.”
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