Data released Tuesday by the United States Census Bureau shows the Affordable Care Act continues to reduce the number of West Virginians without health insurance.
In 2016, 96,000 West Virginians lacked health insurance coverage – that’s down 12,000 from the previous year, according to a news release from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy – which studied the U.S. Census Bureau’s data.
Nearly 95 percent of West Virginians had health insurance last year.
Between 2013 and 2016, West Virginians without health insurance declined by 9 percent. West Virginia has had the fifth largest decrease in its uninsured rate among all 50 states under the ACA.
Interim Executive Director for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Sean O’Leary says the Affordable Care Act has been vital to the overall health of the state. Particularly, he says, it’s aided with substance abuse issues and developing treatment for opioid addiction.