A new study says Obamacare may be working — but not in the way anyone expected

You’ve heard that the uninsured rate has dropped since Obamacare has formally rolled out. It’s true, and a new study confirms this, while also noting that the decline did not come from the controversial health insurance exchanges established by the law. The just-released RAND Corp. study suggests that the primary factor was instead growing enrollment in employer-sponsored insurance. Enrollment in ESIs grew by more than 8 million people from September through mid-March. Christine Eibner, a senior economist at RAND, says that these results may not have been widely anticipated, but they shouldn’t be surprising. ”One thing that got lost in the discussion — the Affordable Care Act really wasn’t just about covering people on the marketplaces,” she said. “The law was intended to expand insurance coverage using a whole bunch of different programs, including the existing system, which is heavily based on employer-based coverage.”