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No matter what you think of Obamacare, here's the 1 thing it got absolutely right.

No matter what your politics are, here's some good news!

Do you currently have health insurance? Now, more than ever, the answer is likely to be "yes."

Gallup recently released its quarterly Well-Being Index numbers, and when it comes to insurance, the numbers are looking better than ever.


The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law more than five years ago, and, to put it generously, it's still controversial.

The law has faced (and survived) two Supreme Court challenges. Members of Congress have voted to defund and/or repeal the law more than 50 times. And it remains one of those topics that's probably best not to bring up at the Thanksgiving Day dinner table.



The road here has been a wild one. It must also have been a gold mine for people who make poster boards and markers. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

But let's sidestep the rhetoric for a bit and look at the results.

It certainly seems like the ACA is here to stay, especially after it was upheld again just a few weeks ago. So it's worth seeing if the Act is, you know, actually helping people.

In late 2013, just before one of the key provisions of the law was to take effect, there were more uninsured Americans than ever before.

In the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index for the fourth quarter of 2013, 17.1% of U.S. adults surveyed had no form of health insurance.

So in 2014, when the key provisions of the law kicked into full effect, it seemed like the moment of truth was finally here. Finally, we'd have the answer to one of the key questions of President Obama's presidency: Will this law actually reduce the number of uninsured Americans?

Now there's good news. Ever since 2014, Gallup has observed a downward trend in uninsured rates.

By the end of the first quarter of 2014, rates dropped below 17%; by the second quarter of 2014, only 15.6% of Americans were without insurance. And by the end of 2015's first quarter, the rate of uninsured Americans was at 11.9%.

Then came the latest numbers, released just after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of key provisions in the law for the second time: 11.4% of Americans are now uninsured, a new record low.

That means that 88.6% of Americans have health insurance coverage now, which is an incredible increase.


The new uninsured rates are pretty impressive. Thanks, Obama. Image via Thinkstock.

Even better, the most improvements were seen in groups with historically high uninsured rates: low-income individuals and people of color.

Between the end of 2013 and the second quarter of 2015, Gallup shows, the uninsured rate for black Americans dropped from 20.9% to 12%; Hispanic people saw their rate drop from 38.7% to 29.1%.

On the whole, uninsured numbers decreased across all ages, races, and income levels.

And with that, the question of whether or not the ACA is helping those most in need has been answered, and it's a resounding "yes."

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Image.

By making health care more accessible, we're also seeing major on-the-ground improvements.

Those big numbers are one thing. But the millions of people who have seen their insurance situations improve during the past few years are the evidence of true improvements.

They're people like freelancer Andrew Stryker, who told the Washington Post that the ACA helped cut his premiums in half.

And they're people like this employee, who commented on Addicting Info about the struggle to afford insurance on their own.

"I lost my job in 2013 and was offered COBRA at $450 plus per month which I cannot afford on unemployment. I have epilepsy, a pre-existing condition, and was rejected when I shopped for private insurance. Thankfully, the ACA took effect and I now have affordable insurance with the cost based on my low income on unemployment. Without the ACA, I would be left without health insurance leaving me vulnerable to losing the home I worked to pay for over the last 30 years. ... The [ACA] is the best thing that happened to the American people in a very long time. Unfortunately, too many of them don't know it yet, but they will over time."

Politics aside, we're learning an important lesson.

Lives have been changed for the better as a result of expanded insurance access. Let's keep focusing on that priority.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Jason K. Pargin shares his controversial theory on lobster.

Novelist Jason K. Pargin has inspired an online food fight after his video about lobster received over 500,000 views on Tiktok and nearly 6 million on Twitter. Pargin believes that we’ve all been tricked into liking lobster and that people only like it because it’s considered high class.

Pargin is the author of the “John Dies at the End” and “Zoey Ashe” series and the former editor of Cracked.com.

"I don't think anyone actually enjoys eating lobster. I think they've just been convinced that it's a high-class food for a really specific reason,” Pargin says in his controversial video. He then describes how just a few centuries ago lobster was once used as prisoners' food and ground into fertilizer.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Pop Culture

This 1940s guide on 'how to be pretty' for teen girls has some surprisingly modern suggestions

In a resurfaced video from the 1940s, Mary Stuyvesant, a Ponds beauty consultant, spoke to a group of high school girls about "how to be pretty."

1940s guide on "how to be pretty" is surprisingly modern.

Often, when we think of the 1940s and the messaging that was sent to women and girls back then, we tend to imagine lessons about how to get and keep a husband. But it turns out that all messaging wasn't the same and some girls were receiving a much more progressive message about their appearance.

In a resurfaced video from the 1940s, Mary Stuyvesant, a Ponds beauty consultant, spoke to a group of high school girls about "how to be pretty." Surprisingly, the advice is rather timeless and not at all focused on becoming the best wife and mother you can be, but on learning to care for yourself. Stuyvesant refers to your physical appearance as icing on a cake and that good icing tastes nice but the cake is the most important part.

She goes on to explain to the girls that who they are as people is the cake and that's the part that needs the most attention.

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Weatherman rescues a chicken in a blizzard and now they're friends.

There's a little-known saying that every weatherman needs a chicken. OK, it's little known because I totally just made it up, but you have to admit, it's just random enough to make you wonder if you missed out on a weird colloquialism. But in this case, it may be a new saying because weatherman David Neal found a stray chicken while reporting on a blizzard, and they've somehow become best friends.

The chicken, now named Penelope, was running around in the snowstorm while Neal was filming, so he tried to catch her so he could make sure she was warm. Penelope had other plans and gave Neal a literal run for his money. Eventually, with the help of a bystander who was likely as confused as the chicken, Neal was able to get Penny in his arms.

Of course, he had some explaining to do once the cameras were rolling again, and he handled it like the pro he is, holding a live chicken.

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Today Info/Youtube

Taylor Swift "diving" below the stage of her Eras Tour concert

The highly anticipated, Ticketmaster-bustingTaylor Swift Eras Tour has officially begun. And it’s looking like the pop star is pulling out all the stops to deliver a heap of spectacle.

Case in point—a video from the “Anti-Hero” pop star's kick-off concert that’s making quite the splash online.

In a mesmerizing blend of live performance and hologram wizardry, audiences saw Swift, clad in a flowy red dress, dive into a pool built into the stage. She then swam across to emerge through waves in a shimmery jumpsuit, just before climbing a ladder and disappearing into a cloud.

Basically, it was like a romantic fairy tale brought to life.

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