DATA: Uninsured rate sinking under Obamacare

The percentage of Americans without health insurance has dropped to 12.9 percent since Obamacare took effect, a new Gallup poll shows.

This is down from 17.1 percent when the health care law took effect a year ago, and is at its lowest point since Gallup started tracking the data in 2008. The previous low was 14.4 percent in late 2008.

The data is a result of 43,000 interviews with U.S. adults from Oct. 1 to Dec. 30, 2014.

Not surprisingly, the biggest drop in the number of uninsured comes among blacks and lower-income Americans.

Those making less than $36,000 a year have seen uninsured rates drop to 23.8 percent, down 6.9 percent from one year ago.

Among blacks, 13.9 percent are now uninsured, down 7 percent.

From Gallup:

“The uninsured rate may drop because the healthcare law’s provision requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to provide health insurance to 70% of their workers took effect on Jan. 1. In 2016, companies with 50 or more employees will be required to provide health insurance to 95% of their workers.”