Over half with ACA plans received subsidies

Daily Iowegian (Centerville, IA)

Oct. 13--More than half of enrollees in Affordable Care Act plans in Appanoose County received cost-sharing subsidies that President Donald Trump is ending.

According to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Appanoose County had 295 enrollees into the ACA health insurance marketplace as of March. Of those, 158 received cost-sharing reduction subsidies.

In 2016, the latest year data is available for, those receiving cost-sharing payments totaled $200,592. That ranks Appanoose 36th in the state of Iowa.

The subsidies help lower copays and deductibles for modest income earners.

To the south, of 229 who bought plans in Putnam County through the marketplace, almost 71 percent receive subsidies. Roughly $219,120 went toward those plans in 2016.

In Monroe County, 68 of 112 plans were subsidized. In Davis County subsidies went to 67 of 122 plans and in Wayne 69 of 135. Plans in those counties cost between $56,028 and $97,800 in 2016 to subsidize.

Nationally, of 12.2 million who bought insurance through the ACA marketplace, roughly 58 percent received cost-sharing subsidies, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis.

The foundation estimates significant premium increases that will counteract the loss of cost-sharing payments. The analysis predicts Iowa would see a roughly 14 percent increase in marketplace silver plans.

Increases in Missouri could be far more steep, with an estimated 18 percent premium increase according to the foundation.

Trump's action to end the subsidies came Thursday night. By Friday, at least a dozen states had announced they intended to sue the Trump administration to prevent the subsidy stoppage.

The period to enroll into ACA marketplace health insurance plans is set to begin in three weeks.

Kyle Ocker is the editor of the Daily Iowegian and can be reached at kocker@dailyiowegian.com or by calling (641) 856-6336. Follow him on Twitter @Kyle_Ocker

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