ICYMI: Americans Are Benefitting From Lower Premiums And Out-Of-Pocket Health Care Costs
WASHINGTON – As Americans utilize the enhanced subsidies now available under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), new data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) show that consumers in the 36 states which use the federal marketplace are benefiting from significantly lower premiums and lower out-of-pocket costs.
Yahoo! Finance reports on the effects of these ACA enhancements:
- Lowered or Eliminated Premiums
- “…[P]remiums for new enrollees have dropped an average 25 precent since February, thanks to expanded federal subsidies…”
- “…New insurance enrollees registering for a plan from Feb. 15 to March could expect to pay monthly premiums of $117. But once April hit and the tax credits were factored in, premiums dropped to $86, according to HHS.”
- “For lower-income policyholders … the new subsidies will completely eliminate your premiums.”
- Lowered Deductibles
- “… [W]ith more choice available to them through the tax credits, Americans have been able to afford signing up for health insurance plans that offer lower out-of-pocket maximums. HHS reports that the median deductible for new consumers has already fallen by nearly 90 precent, from $450 before April 1 to $50 currently.”
- “… [W]ith more choice available to them through the tax credits, Americans have been able to afford signing up for health insurance plans that offer lower out-of-pocket maximums. HHS reports that the median deductible for new consumers has already fallen by nearly 90 precent, from $450 before April 1 to $50 currently.”
- Wide Range of Americans are Benefitting
- “It’s not just new plan holders who are finding savings through these tax credits. Nearly 2 million current enrollees have come back to the marketplace and seen their monthly premiums drop by up 40 precent, according to HHS.”
- “More than a million Americans have signed up to Healthcare.gov — the federal Obamacare marketplace — during the current special enrollment period, which runs through Aug. 15.”
Meanwhile, similar data are emerging in states that have their own marketplaces.
- “17,282 Coloradans have signed up for a health insurance plan since Connect for Health Colorado re-opened enrollment on Feb. 8, with more than 7,500 sign ups in the last month alone. That uptick in enrollments coincides with the date that Connect for Health Colorado began offering increased savings on health insurance to residents of all income ranges following the passage of the American Rescue Plan,” Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s health insurance exchange, announced earlier this month.
And new research corroborates these trends:
- A new study by KNG Health Consulting estimates the effects of select ACA enhancements, including provisions similar to those in ARPA, and reveals the number of uninsured Americans would fall significantly under an enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) model.
- The study, which was supported by the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, finds that roughly 8.1 million (30 percent) and 9.6 million (34 percent) fewer people will be uninsured after the ACA enhancements in 2023 and 2032, respectively.
With private plans and public programs working together to expand access to affordable, high-quality health coverage and care to millions of Americans, now is the time tobuild on and improve what is working in health care – not create one-size-fits-all government health insurance systems such as “Medicare at 60,” Medicare buy-in or the public option, which could ultimately lead to many of the same negative consequences as Medicare for All.
- To learn more about the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, CLICK HERE.