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California uninsurance rate drops to 7.2 percent

Carl Court

<p>LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: A stethoscope is pictured in a General Practitioners surgery on December 4, 2014 in London, England. Ahead of next years general election, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has said he will put an extra ?2bn into frontline health services across the UK, ahead of a plan drawn up by NHS bosses calling for an extra ?8bn a year by 2020. In England, everyone would be able to see a GP seven days a week by 2020. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)</p>

By: Zac Self

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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- California’s uninsured rate is seeing a downward turn, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Figures released Wednesday show that 7.2 percent of Californians lacked health insurance in 2017, down from 7.3 percent the year before.

Nationally, the uninsured rate was 8.8 percent. California embraced the Affordable Care Act and the state-run Medi-Cal program that now covers one in three Californians.

The state expanded Medi-Cal to young people with low incomes who are living in the country illegally.

Many of the state’s remaining residents who are uninsured are not eligible for publicly funded health care due to their illegal status.

Others don’t get employer-sponsored health plans and don’t make enough to qualify for large subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.