CDC: 1.1 million more Americans lost health insurance coverage in 2018

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The number of Americans without health insurance increased again in 2018, the second consecutive year that figure has risen after several years of declines under Obamacare, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey shows.

About 30.4 million Americans did not have health insurance in 2018, up from 29.3 million in 2017, according to the CDC's National Health Interview Survey.  That means about 1.1 million more Americans lost insurance coverage last year. 

Efforts by the Trump administration and Congress to challenge and loosen requirements of the Affordable Care Act probably played a role in some going without coverage, analysts said. 

"I don't think it's too shocking with efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," said Daniel Derksen, a University of Arizona professor and health policy expert. 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated the health law's individual mandate that required people to get health insurance or pay a penalty. It formed the legal basis for a coalition of Republican-led states to argue in federal court that the entire health law should be tossed out – a court challenge that the Trump administration supports. 
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