Number of uninsured in Mass. continues to fall

The percentage of Massachusetts residents without health insurance fell again last year, to a new low of 2.5 percent, the US Census Bureau said Tuesday.

That’s down from 2.8 percent of Massachusetts residents who went without health insurance in 2015, and 3.7 percent who were uninsured in 2013.

The figures vary widely from state to state. Massachusetts continues to have the smallest percentage of uninsured residents in the country. Texas was at the bottom of the list, with 16.6 percent of residents lacking health insurance last year. Nationally, 8.8 percent of Americans — or 28.1 million people — were not covered by a private or government health plan in 2016, a decrease from the 9.1 percent who lacked insurance in 2015.

Different organizations have come up with different estimates for the level of health insurance coverage in Massachusetts, but all agree that the state has been a leader in coverage. Massachusetts passed a law requiring residents to obtain health insurance in 2006, under former Governor Mitt Romney.

The percentage of residents with insurance here also grew under the Affordable Care Act,which expanded subsidized coverage to more people. President Trump and Republicans in Congress blame the law for driving up costs, and they have been trying to dismantle it.

“For more than 10 years, Massachusetts has been a leader in providing access to health care coverage to everyone,” Massachusetts secretary of health and human services Marylou Sudders said in a statement. “We are pleased that today’s data from the US Census reinforces our success, and serves as a reminder that coverage is a very good platform to tackle the issues of health care affordability.”