August 30, 2017

Latest CDC Survey Shows Uninsured Rate Holding Steady at 10%

The latest CDC numbers on the uninsured population are out. In the first quarter of 2017 the number of uninsured in the US had dropped from about 17 percent before Obamacare to 10.3 percent. That continues to be below the original CBO estimate of 11 percent for 2016 and beyond.

The uninsured rate has been hovering at about 10 percent for the past two years, and this is most likely where it will stay given the constraints and subsidy rates of the current program. Despite the best efforts of Republicans, there’s no evidence that it’s failing or imploding or collapsing. It’s not in a death spiral and it’s not busting the budget. It’s doing fine—better and cheaper than expected, in fact—and our job now should be to improve it, not to deliberately sabotage it.

NOTE: As always, I’m using the CDC’s figures for the nonelderly population. That’s because (a) this is what CBO used for its estimates, so I need to use comparable numbers, and (b) it’s the number we actually care about. The overall figure for all ages is currently 8.8 percent.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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