Obamacare will extend health insurance to 32 million Americans. Here’s who they are.

President Obama’s signature health-care law is expected to extend health insurance to 32 million Americans over the next decade. PriceWaterhouse Cooper is out with a new report that looks at who, exactly, those Americans are – and how they compare to the millions of American who already have coverage.

In general: The newly-insured will be a more diverse, lower-income group than those who currently have coverage. They are less likely to be white or to speak English. They are more likely to be single and not rate themselves in great health. The median income of the newly-insured is 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Line ($14,893 for an individual). For those who already have coverage, that number stands at 166 percent ($18,542).

This is probably the population that we should expect Obamacare to extend coverage; the whole idea of the law was to cover low- and middle-income Americans who have previously had difficulty accessing coverage. 

Ron Manderscheid, PhD

Executive Director,

Natl Assn of Co Beh Hlth & Dev Dis Dirs/www.nacbhdd.org

25 Massachusetts Ave, NW,  Ste 500 

Washington, DC 20001

The Voice of Local Authorities in the Nation’s Capital!

202-942-4296 (O); 202-553-1827 (M); rmanderscheid@nacbhd.org

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President,

ACMHA: The College for Behavioral Health Leadership/www.acmha.org

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