Baby Boomers Largest Segment In Health Marketplace
By Randy Tucker, Dayton Daily News, Ohio | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Baby Boomers age 55 to 64 make up about 36 percent of enrollment in
Aging Ohioans were among those hit hardest by recession, and many have been without health insurance for months, even years, at a time in their lives when they need it the most.
It's no surprise that they were among the first to sign up for marketplace coverage when it became available last October, said
"Most of the people we see here are in their late 40s and 50s, and that's been the trend since enrollment began
That includes a large percentage of the 1.5 million
Between
A recent Gallup poll found the lingering effects of the recession have pushed that figure down even further. Just 43.5 percent of Americans now say they get their primary insurance through a current or former employer -- down from 45.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the poll conducted last month.
"A lot of our members have taken jobs in the service industry or work part-time or seasonally because they can't find full-time jobs," Keller said. "And most of those jobs do not come with built-in insurance. Those are the folks who benefit the most from the (Affordable Care Act) because they are likely to qualify for a subsidy that would cover a lot of the cost of the new insurance options available to them."
Targeting youth
Because of their reduced incomes, many older Ohioans enrolling in health plans sold by private insurers in the marketplace have found that they are eligible for substantial tax credit subsidies to cover the cost of premiums and deductibles.
For example, the lowest monthly premium for a marketplace plan that covers at least 70 percent of medical costs for a 55-year-old nonsmoker in
The tax credit -- available to anyone earning less than about
While older adults appear to be the big winners in the early days of the health insurance marketplace, the government's final push for enrollment by the
The federal government has launched a slew of marketing efforts featuring entertainment and sports celebrities targeting the crucial demographic. And President Barack recently appeared on the cult Internet comedy show, "Between Two Ferns," to urge young people to sing up for health plans.
Young people will be key to the success of the marketplace, which will require healthy individuals to buy coverage to help offset the potentially higher medical costs of older adults and keep premiums affordable.
About 25 percent of the 4.2 million Americans who enrolled in marketplace plans as of
Both figures are well below the government's initial projections.
The Obama administration originally said that if 7 million people enrolled in coverage as the
But the CBO has since revised its total enrollment estimate to 6 million, which means fewer young people would be needed to balance out the risk pool.
And at least a handful of insurers -- whose projections matter most because they determine premium prices -- have said they're happy with the mix of enrollees they've seen so far in their marketplace plans.
"Our demographics are broad and represent a mix of young people, families and early retirees with 86 percent of our enrollees eligible for and receiving subsidies," said
Regardless of age, enrollment figures continue to show that women -- many of whom have struggled more than men to regain jobs and wages since the end of the recession -- lead sign-ups by gender: Women make up about 55 percent of marketplace enrollment nationwide and 56 percent in
Boehner: 'The law is not gaining acceptance'
Despite growing enrollment among all ages and demographics that has been credited with pushing the U.S. uninsurance rate down to its lowest level since 2008, Congressional Republicans continue to rail against the health care law, which they have repeatedly voted to repeal since it became law in 2010.
"From the thousands of comments, calls and emails I continue to receive from the people of my district sharing horror stories about their experiences with the president's health care law, I can tell you with confidence that the law is not gaining acceptance in our region, or even coming close to gaining acceptance," Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-
According to Gallup, 23 percent of Americans say the health care law has hurt them or their families, while 10 percent say it has helped them. Still, the vast majority of Americans (63 percent) say the law has had no impact on them or their families.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, when those polled answered the question about the law's impact on them and their families, Republicans were more than five times as likely (39 percent) as Democrats (7 percent) to say the ACA has had a negative impact.
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