Kentucky leads the nation in percentage reduction of citizens without health insurance, according to Gallup polling

They were the only Southern states to expand Medicaid and have a state health-insurance marketplace under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

In both states the uninsured rate was cut by well over half. Kentucky’s dropped to 7.5 percent from 20.4 percent; Arkansas’ dropped to 9.6 percent from 22.5 percent.

Both states registered a decline of 12.9 percentage points, but in percentage terms, Kentucky’s was larger, 63.2 percent, to Arkansas’ 57.3 percent. Oregon’s rate declined 62.3 percent, for second place.

With 7.5 percent still uninsured, Kentucky still trails several states in the percentage of population that does have health insurance, as illustrated by this map from Gallup:

“Americans’ attitudes about the health law known as ‘Obamacare’ have shown little change since 2013,” Dan Witters reports for Gallup. “More Americans continue to disapprove of the law than approve of it, even as uninsured rates for nearly all states have declined since that time. Political identity is closely related to approval or disapproval of the ACA, so entrenched attitudes toward the Obama presidency are likely driving the stability in Americans’ views of the ACA.”