I didn't want this in the political area, it is healthcare.
It is also economics.
Yes there is a huge political component but I'd prefer to just look at the economics of the healthcare of the extension of the Obamacare "subsidies"
The Wall Street Journal breaks it down in an opinion editorial. I'm just offering up some bits and pieces from the article.
If I read this correctly, and as the budget bill that was ALREADY PASSED, 93% of the Americans who use ObamaCare will still get their subsidies. So this only affects under 2 MILLION people out of a nation of 350 MILLION. And it only affects people who make 400% above the minimum level. So it seems to me it is crazy to support restoring these subsidies.
Did I miss something in the math?
LINK TO AN ARCHIVED article: https://archive.is/CobXM#selection-735.325-735.663
It is also economics.
Yes there is a huge political component but I'd prefer to just look at the economics of the healthcare of the extension of the Obamacare "subsidies"
The Wall Street Journal breaks it down in an opinion editorial. I'm just offering up some bits and pieces from the article.
If I read this correctly, and as the budget bill that was ALREADY PASSED, 93% of the Americans who use ObamaCare will still get their subsidies. So this only affects under 2 MILLION people out of a nation of 350 MILLION. And it only affects people who make 400% above the minimum level. So it seems to me it is crazy to support restoring these subsidies.
Did I miss something in the math?
LINK TO AN ARCHIVED article: https://archive.is/CobXM#selection-735.325-735.663
The Covid-era payments are masking the true cost of plans on the exchanges and distorting insurance markets.
Congress is debating whether to let Covid-era ObamaCare premium subsidies expire as scheduled at the end of 2025. These subsidies—costing taxpayers more than $400 billion over the next decade—have enticed higher-income Americans into unaffordable plans and distorted insurance markets. They belong in the dustbin of history.
Affordable Care Act premium subsidies were originally available only to people with incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level. In 2025 that’s approximately $62,600 for a single person and $128,600 for a family of four. The Treasury Department transfers taxpayer funds directly to insurers to cap enrollees’ premium contributions at a certain percentage of their income.
. . .
Letting the subsidies go away merely restores the original ObamaCare premium-support structure. That preserves access to subsidies for low-income populations, who already comprise 93% of the 24 million who get health insurance through the ObamaCare exchanges. The expiration will affect roughly 1.6 million current enrollees. These are the people with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty level who have been receiving subsidies that cap their premium contributions at 8.5% of income. A family of four in Arizona making $600,000, a married couple in West Virginia making $580,000, and a single individual in Vermont making $180,000 all qualify for subsidies.
Simply put, since 2021, Congress has been bribing higher-income Americans to purchase expensive ObamaCare plans by hiding the plans’ true price tags using taxpayer dollars. Premiums have increased by nearly 80% since 2014 and more than doubled since 2011. They are projected to rise another 15% to 20% next year. Despite record taxpayer spending on premium subsidies—exceeding $130 billion annually—enrollees still pay average deductibles of $5,000 and out-of-pocket maximums of $21,000 while 1 in 5 of their medical claims are denied. . . .