New results from the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 2014, indicate that the Affordable Care Act’s subsidized insurance options and consumer protections reduced the number of uninsured working-age adults from an estimated 37 million people, or 20 percent of the population, in 2010 to 29 million, or 16 percent, […] Read more »
Americans’ view of the economy most positive in eight years
Americans’ views of the national economy are now the most positive they’ve been in almost eight years. Fifty-three percent say the economy is in very good or fairly good shape — an increase of 13 points since October and the highest percentage since September 2007, before the start of the […] Read more »
Fox News Poll: Voters expect GOP Congress to win more often than Obama
As the 114th Congress gets underway, the vast majority of voters continue to give legislators the thumbs down, and many people are unfamiliar with the leaders on Capitol Hill. Still, a majority thinks the new GOP-led Congress will trump the president in the next two years. Only a third of […] Read more »
Uninsured Rate Sinks to 12.9%
The uninsured rate among U.S. adults for the fourth quarter of 2014 averaged 12.9%. This is down slightly from 13.4% in the third quarter of 2014 and down significantly from 17.1% a year ago. The uninsured rate has dropped 4.2 percentage points since the Affordable Care Act’s requirement for Americans […] Read more »
Cluster of Concerns Vie for Top U.S. Problem in 2014
In 2014, four issues generated enough public concern over enough months for at least 10% of Americans, on average, to identify each of them as the nation’s most important problem. Complaints about government leadership — including President Barack Obama, the Republicans in Congress and general political conflict — led the […] Read more »
The Year in Charts
Although developments on the political front were certainly dispiriting, for the first time in years, the economic news was not all gloomy. But with the economy improving, there was less focus on the continuing need to address flagging incomes, rising inequality and unbalanced government spending. Below are 10 charts to […] Read more »