How health-care reform affected America, in 51 graphs

National columnist

September 14, 2017 at 3:17 p.m. EDT

Mario Henderson leads chants of “Save Medicaid,” as other social service activists, Medicaid recipients and their supporters stage a protest outside the building that houses the offices of Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) on June 29 in Jackson, Miss. (Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press)

Last year, 8.6 percent of Americans lacked health insurance. Three years earlier, that figure was 14.5 percent, meaning that the rate dropped by 5.9 percentage points over the period that the Affordable Care Act went into effect, a 40 percent decline from the 2013 figure. In real terms, that’s about 19 million fewer people lacking health insurance, per estimates released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.