For the fourth year in a row, the number of American adults living without insurance rose. Nearly 14 percent of adults in the United States are uninsured.

Before the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, the rate of uninsured Americans was around 18 percent. Since the rate bottomed out at 10.9 percent in 2016 following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the rate has steadily climbed for the last four years, according to a recent poll conducted by Gallup.

Some groups were disproportionately more likely to be uninsured, according to data from the poll. While higher earning households making $120,000 or more every year saw a 1.2 percent increase in uninsured adults, lower income household saw a much larger increase. This increase was about 3 percent among families earning $24,000 to $48,000 per year.

Adult women were more likely to become uninsured than adult men, with a 3.9 percent increase in uninsured women compared to a 1.6 percent increase in uninsured men.

Regionally, there were variations in the increases in uninsured adults. In the southern United States, the percentage of uninsured adults grew to 3.8 percent, raising the overall uninsured total to nearly 20 percent.

Overall, these percentages equal seven million more people who have become uninsured between 2016 and 2018.

There are a number of reasons that could affect this increase in uninsured adults since 2016. Since President Donald Trump took office, he has weakened parts of the Affordable Care Act. Some of these actions have included making sure that there is no penalty for Americans who do not have health insurance. Open enrollment is also shortened. Plus increasing insurance premium costs may have also contributed to the increase in uninsured Americans.