The moves that President Trump and Congress have made to chip away at the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are going to make health insurance more expensive for those purchasing plans through the ACA exchanges, according to a study by the Urban Institute.
In the 43 states that allow short-term limited duration (STLD) health plans that do not cover all the essential benefits mandated by the ACA, premiums for ACA-compliant plans will rise by 18.2 percent, the nonprofit predicts.
That increase is due both to the repeal of the individual mandate included in last year's tax law as well as the recent move by the Trump administration to allow insurers to sell skinnier insurance policies.
While large numbers of younger, healthier people will save money by either forgoing insurance entirely or buying a cheaper, non-comprehensive plan, those who continue to buy comprehensive insurance policies on the individual market can expect prices to increase.
The group estimates that 5.5 million fewer Americans will be covered by individual health plans as a result of the actions taken by the federal government to undermine the ACA as well as general “confusion” about whether Obamacare is still in place. Indeed, the president has helped sow the confusion by repeatedly boasting that he has effectively repealed the ACA.
The effect differs dramatically between states. In Massachusetts, where STLD plans are prohibited and former Gov. Mitt Romney signed into law a predecessor to the ACA that includes an individual mandate, the Urban Institute projects that health coverage will only drop by 3.3 percent. In West Virginia, however, the group estimates a drop in coverage of nearly 50 percent.
The other states that currently bar STLD plans are Oregon, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Washington. Michigan and Nevada have laws in place that restrict STLDs to a certain extent.
In terms of federal spending, the changes present a mixed bag. While the reduced number of people enrolled in ACA plans means the federal government has to provider fewer people with premium tax credits, the government will have to spend more per person for those who remain on ACA plans as a result of the premium increases.
When taking into account all of the policy changes, the group estimates that the federal government will end up spending 9.3 percent more ($33 billion) on healthcare in 2019 than it would have under prior law.
From: BenefitsPro
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