Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Louis Jacobson
By Louis Jacobson January 8, 2025

Black uninsured rate continues to fall under Biden

Two years ago, we noted that President Joe Biden had kept his promise to reduce the health uninsured rate for Black Americans, at least in the first year of his presidency, 2021. A look at the end of his term shows that the rate kept dropping in 2022 and 2023.

Census Bureau data shows the uninsured rate for Black Americans has been lower in each of Biden's first three years in office than in any of the years under his predecessor, and now successor, President-elect Donald Trump.

The lowest level under Trump — 9.3% — came during his first year in office, 2017. Under Biden, the rates were 9%, 8.3% and 8.1% in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. (Data for 2024 is not available yet.)

Census Bureau definitions allow for several ways to determine who counts as Black, but for this promise analysis, we'll use the bureau's "Black alone" category, which excludes people who identify with additional racial categories.

Biden moved to extend the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act during the coronavirus pandemic and invested $500 million in outreach efforts to potential customers for health insurance under the acts.

With the uninsured rate for Black Americans falling for three consecutive years, this remains a Promise Kept.

Our Sources

Louis Jacobson
By Louis Jacobson December 9, 2022

Uninsured rate for Black Americans declined in Biden's first year in office

As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden pledged to reduce the health uninsurance rate for African Americans, noting that it has historically been higher than the uninsurance rate for white Americans.

Data covering Biden's first year in office shows he delivered on his promise.

The year before Biden took office, the uninsurance rate for Blacks was 10.4%. (Under Census Bureau definitions, there are various ways to determine who counts as "Black," but for this article, we'll use the bureau's "Black alone" category, which excludes people who identify with additional racial categories.) 

In 2021, Biden's first year in office, the uninsurance rate for Blacks fell to 9% — a drop of 1.4 percentage points. That was also lower than the rate in any year of Donald Trump's presidency.

Uninsurance rates for non-Hispanic whites also fell between 2020 and 2021, but not as dramatically, decreasing from 5.4% to 5.3%. 

 

The Biden administration accomplished this goal by working to expand the Affordable Care Act, which was signed when Biden was Barack Obama's vice president. Among other efforts, the Biden administration expanded the enrollment time window and added to the subsidies available to enrollees. 

This rate could rise during Biden's second, third or fourth year in office. If so, we'll reevaluate our rating. However, for now, he earns a Promise Kept.

Latest Fact-checks