Rise of Uninsured Americans Could Be Linked to Trump Administration’s Crackdown on Undocumented Immigrants
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A Census Bureau report found that the number of uninsured in the U.S. rose by 1.9 million people in 2018, which could be linked to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the AP reports. An estimated 27.5 million people, or 8.5 percent of the population, lacked coverage for the entire year. The Hispanic community was the only major racial and ethnic category with a significant increase in their uninsured rate. According to the census report, the Hispanic uninsured rate rose by 1.6 percentage points in 2018, with nearly 18 percent lacking coverage. “These declines in coverage are coming at a time when the Trump administration has tried to curb immigration and discourage immigrants from using public benefits like Medicaid,” Larry Levitt told the AP. Levitt is a part of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks trends in health insurance coverage. There was no significant change in health insurance for non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Asians, the report found.