Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital Report New Data on Insurance (The Affordability of Individual- Market Health Insurance In California Under the American Rescue Plan Act, 2021): Insurance

Health Policy and Law Daily

2023 SEP 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- A new study on Insurance is now available. According to news originating from Boston, Massachusetts, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “In 2021 the American Rescue Plan Act increased premium subsidies for people purchasing insurance from the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces and provided zero-premium Marketplace plans that covered 94 percent of medical care costs (silver 94 plans) to recipients of unemployment compensation. Using data on adult enrollees in on-and off-Marketplace individual plans in California in 2021, we found that 41 percent reported incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level and that 39 percent reported living in households receiving unemployment compensation.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Massachusetts General Hospital, “Overall, 72 percent of enrollees reported having no difficulty paying premiums, and 76 percent reported that outof-pocket expenses did not affect their seeking of medical care. The majority of enrollees eligible for plans with cost-sharing subsidies were enrolled in Marketplace silver plans (56-58 percent). Many of these enrollees, however, may have missed opportunities for premium or cost sharing subsidies: 6-8 percent enrolled in off-Marketplace plans and were more likely to have difficulty paying premiums than those in Marketplace silver plans, and more than one-quarter enrolled in Marketplace bronze plans and were more likely to delay care because of cost than those in Marketplace silver plans.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “In the coming era of expanded Marketplace subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, helping consumers identify high-value and subsidy-eligible plans could mitigate remaining affordability problems.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The Affordability of Individual- Market Health Insurance In California Under the American Rescue Plan Act, 2021. Health Affairs, 2023;42(7):1011-1020. Health Affairs can be contacted at: Project Hope, 7500 Old Georgetown Rd, Ste 600, Bethesda, MD 20814-6133, USA.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Vicki Fung, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, United States. Additional authors for this research include Mary Price, John Hsu, Joseph P. Newhouse and Emory Wolf.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01419. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.