A national report released by the non-profit health consumers organization, Families USA, shows the majority of Americans with individual health coverage will qualify for premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, or ACA.
“The overwhelming majority of people with private, individual health insurance today will soon be able to receive better coverage and pay lower premiums due to the Affordable Care Act,” said Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack.
Approximately 15.2 million people – 5.7 percent of the non-elderly population – receive their health coverage through private, individual (non-group) health plans. Pollack said a portion of this group has become the center of a controversy about whether or not Americans can keep their health coverage under the ACA.
According to the report, more than 10.8 million Americans who have individual health coverage live in households with incomes below 400 percent of the federal poverty line. As a result, 71 percent of those who have individual health coverage will be income-eligible for premium subsidies or expanded Medicaid coverage. Right now Utah is not accepting the federal dollars for expansion through ACA.
“The premium subsidies will reduce consumers’ annual premium costs by thousands of dollars, and most of those in Medicaid will pay no premiums at all,” said Pollack.
Families in Utah, Colorado, and Idaho are expected to benefit the most from the income guidelines outlined in the ACA. Families USA figures show 84 percent of those in Utah whose current plan does not cover the required ACA health services will qualify for premium subsidies.
