Poll: 45 percent have employer healthcare

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Some 45 percent of U.S. adults report having employer-paid healthcare coverage in September, down from 50 percent in 2008, a survey indicates.

The Gallup survey, part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index based on interviews with more than 30,000 U.S. adults, also indicates that while employer-based healthcare insurance dropped because of the loss of jobs since the economic crash in 2008, there is a new high of people getting healthcare via the government.

More American adults reported having government healthcare -- Medicare, Medicaid, or military/veterans' benefits -- in September at 26.3 percent compared to January 2008, when it was 22.5 percent.

Americans without health insurance were at 16.1 percent in September, close to the 16.6 percent in August, but higher than the 14.8 percent in January 2008.

The president signed the Affordable Care Act into law about six months ago, but the policy changes have yet had a chance to significantly alter the pattern of how many have access to U.S. healthcare coverage.

However, several provisions of the new healthcare law that will impact Americans' healthcare coverage including: Allowing children up to age 26 to remain on their parents' health insurance, outlawing insurers from canceling a person's coverage if he or she gets sick and eliminating lifetime dollar caps on coverage.

The survey, taken Sept. 1-30, with a random sample of 30,248 U.S. adults, has a margin of error of 1 percentage point.