Thousands of SC residents risk losing health care coverage in 2023, feds say
The vast majority of South Carolinians who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s individual marketplace could see their premiums soar in 2023 if
The temporary subsidies, which since 2021 have increased the amount of financial help available to those already eligible for assistance and expanded aid to many middle-income people who previously had been ineligible for help, sunset at the end of the year.
The federal government has warned that millions of people could lose health insurance and recent nationwide gains in health insurance coverage could be wiped out if
The
In
“If there’s anything we learned from the last two years, it’s that having access to quality affordable health care is essential for the well being — both healthwise and economics — of our state, and we cannot afford to go backwards,” said
Not everyone is convinced the state’s uninsured rate will spike if the enhanced subsidies go away, however, and even some who think they’ve been beneficial in the short term don’t view them as a permanent solution.
“Subsidies are not addressing the root problem,” of high health care costs, said
The Republican senators bemoaned the CBO’s prediction that some employers would cease offering health insurance to workers if the enhanced subsidies were made permanent, saying it would “make more people dependent on government.”
“This is a proposal as nonsensical as it is irresponsible,” the senators said in a statement. “It’s absolutely critical Americans have an accurate accounting of the real harm these proposals would have on our economy.”
Public health experts credit the subsidies and COVID-era Medicaid policies that prohibit states from terminating enrollees amid the public health emergency for spurring significant national gains in health insurance coverage in recent years. The
After remaining mostly flat from 2017 to 2020, the number of Palmetto State residents with health insurance through the individual marketplace has spiked 45% since the pandemic, according to state
Such gains are encouraging, public health advocates say, but they could be fleeting if enhanced ACA subsidies aren’t extended.
“Since the passage of ARPA, we have seen significant growth in health insurance enrollment in our state and it scares me for the consumer if these enhanced subsidies go away,” said
While the enhanced subsidies don’t expire until the end of the year,
That’s because the federal deadline for health insurance carriers to set their 2023 ACA rates is
The
The new rates health care consumers could see if the subsidies lapse aren’t yet publicly available, but are expected to be considerably higher than what many people currently pay. As a point of reference, the
But if
Ritchie, whose organization advocates on behalf of the state’s health insurance companies, said the ACA subsidies have helped keep people insured during the pandemic, but is less concerned their expiration will lead to a significant decline in the number of South Carolinians with health insurance.
“Given the competition for talent and employees in the nation and in
Ritchie said the interest groups pushing for permanent ACA subsidies are using the pandemic as an opportunity to create a backdoor single-payer system that will end up costing taxpayers more in the long run.
“Whenever you subsidize something and you take the market out of it further you’re going to end up with larger costs to the taxpayer, less efficiency in the delivery of care and higher prices,” he said. “That’s not what consumers need today. We need affordability and access to quality care, and the private health care system is the best method we have to assure quality in the delivery of care rather than a subsidized government plan.”
Who benefited from enhanced ACA subsidies?
The two primary groups of people believed to have taken advantage of the enhanced ACA subsidies are those who previously had been unable to afford health insurance and those who lost their jobs during the pandemic and could no longer rely on employer-sponsored coverage.
The subsidies helped both populations by increasing premium tax credits for individuals already eligible for assistance and extending assistance to many middle-income people and families who had not previously been eligible for it.
“It really made a huge difference for working people, especially people who owned their own business, small business owners looking for coverage for themselves,” said
Wright, the
In
Wright, who analyzed South Carolina’s ACA enrollment data at The State’s request, said it indicated that many people who lost employer-sponsored health insurance signed up for the lowest-cost bronze plans.
Others who may already have had bronze plans, or who had not previously been eligible for subsidies due to their incomes — about 21,000 people in
How the end of enhanced subsidies could affect South Carolinians
The exact amount that ACA health care premiums will increase if subsidies expire depends on an individual enrollee’s age, income and where they live.
A typical 60-year-old couple making
In
According to the organization’s analysis, a 45-year-old making
“A
©2022 The State. Visit thestate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Commercial Medical Insurance Market May See a Big Move : Major Giants Cigna, PingAn, Aetna: Commercial Medical Insurance Market 2022
CIGNA CORP – 10-Q – MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News