Surprise! Obamacare Is Really Working

Remember 2009? Those were heady times. Barack Obama, maker of history, had just moved into the White House with the incredibly elegant Michelle and their adorable girls. Fresh off the campaign trail and with seemingly little opposition, the president got down to business, promising to move political mountains to "lower costs for everyone, improve quality for everyone, and expand coverage to all Americans."

Now, after five years, an epic website fail, and a nail-biter of a Supreme Court fight, Obamacare is officially here to stay. But, with all the changes and bumps in the road, just how much progress has the law made toward achieving universal coverage?

Well, if the latest numbers are anything to go by, there's definitely reason to celebrate. The percentage of Americans without health coverage has fallen from a high of 18% in 2013 (before the law went into effect) to 15.9%. While this drop is indeed significant, the biggest improvements have been among low-income Americans (of whom 2.8% more are now insured) and black Americans (with a 2.6% increase). Perhaps even more importantly, a full 55% of uninsured adults say they plan to buy health insurance, rather than pay the fine for refusing to do so.

Whatever your thoughts on the rollout (or the many concessions that have been made, especially on birth control), it's hard to argue with the fact that over six million previously uninsured Americans are now covered.