As Democrats continue to defend an obviously failed Obamacare system, the effects of soaring rates and collapsing coverage options seem to be taking a toll on the number of people actually buying health insurance these days. According to the "Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index," the percentage of uninsured adults in the U.S. bottomed out at 10.9% in Q4 2016 but has since increased to 11.7% in just the first two quarters of 2017.
For those keeping track, there are roughly 250 million adults in the United States. Therefore, a 0.8% increase in the uninsured rate implies that roughly 2 million people have decided they're simply not willing to continue absorbing Obamacare's exorbitant annual premium increases.
Not surprisingly, the biggest increases in the uninsured rate came from 18-34 year olds...you know, the people who don't really need coverage but were forced to subsidize older, sicker people because of Obama's view that "when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody"...apparently they're no longer convinced that it was good for them.
Now, while Democrats will undoubtedly blame Trump for the sudden increase in the uninsured rates, we're going to go out on a limb and suggest it might just have more to do with soaring premiums that increased over 100%, on average, in just 4 years.
Per the chart below from the Department of Health and Human Services, the average individual purchaser of health insurance across the United States saw their premiums increase from $232 per month in 2013 to $476 per month in 2017, a 'modest' increase of over 100% in just a few years. To put that into perspective, that's nearly $3,000 per year and roughly 9% of what the median American earns each year.
And while it will make zero difference to those intent upon blaming the Trump administration, recall that 2017 rates were set in the summer of 2016, a time when most viewed Trump as a long-shot for the White House.
Meanwhile, as if a 100% average increase isn't bad enough, residents of many states incurred even more devastating increases of over 200%.
But sure, it's all Trump's fault.