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The nation’s uninsured rate tumbled further last year, hitting the lowest rate on record, according to new government data that underscored what is at stake in the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In the first nine months of 2016, just 8.8% of Americans lacked health coverage, survey data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. (Levey, 2/14)

The Affordable Care Act, the same law that President Donald Trump and the Republican majority Congress are intent on replacing, has helped California reduce its uninsured rate to a  record low of 7.1 percent. That’s almost 10 percentage points less than in 2013, when 17 percent of Californians were uninsured and just before the health care law took full effect, according to a new survey released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Seipel, 2/14)

The percentage of Californians without health insurance fell to a record low 7.1 percent in 2016, according to estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control on Tuesday. The figure represents just a 1 percentage point drop from 2015, but is down significantly from the 17 percent uninsured rate in 2013, before the Affordable Care Act was implemented. (Ho, 2/14)