HHS Touts ObamaCare Success That's Really A Bronze Plan Trap
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell recently declared that the latest ObamaCare sign-up tally was proof that the exchanges offer "a product that consumers need, want and like.
Yet the one family that she highlighted to demonstrate that "the Affordable Care Act is working" does more to cast doubt on her claims than to back them up.
Is it really proof that a family wants and likes your product if you threaten to impose a $650 tax on them for not buying it when the product costs only $492
And how badly does any family really need coverage that won't begin to pay for medical treatments until after their finances are blown up
A million or more ObamaCare customers may find themselves in roughly the same straits this year. An individual earning a bit more than $20,000 a year will be able to buy a bronze plan for less than the minimum $325 individual mandate that the government will impose at tax time next year, the Kaiser Family Foundation health insurance marketplace calculator shows.
The same appears to apply for a family of four earning a bit more than $40,000.
Don't Get Sick
Of course, even though a family would have to throw away money if it doesn't buy your product, that doesn't mean that the family isn't a happy customer.
A closer look at the family that Burwell touted as a success story chosen by the Gonzalezes, whose income puts them at about 160% of the poverty level, could have them pay as much as 33% of income before it starts covering nonpreventative medical bills.
Yet in the same op-ed, Burwell touts a Commonwealth Fund survey revealing a drop in the number of Americans putting off necessary care or facing financial distress because of medical bills.
That's undoubtedly true, given that more than 10 million have joined Medicaid since the fall of 2013. The subsidized ObamaCare exchanges also have contributed to making health care bills more manageable — at least for low-income households able to afford silver-level coverage. Silver plans have extra cost-sharing subsidies to hold down medical expenses on top of premiums.
The Gonzalezes could have gotten a silver plan for about $142 a month, or $1,704 a year — an extra $101 per month vs. bronze coverage. It would have shrunk their deductible to $2,900 this year — $9,700 less than the plan they chose — while limiting their maximum expense (excluding premiums) to $3,800.
Signing Up To Avoid Fines
In January, the Congressional Budget Office cut its projection of spending on cost-sharing subsidies through 2024 by $39 billion because it expects that 3 million low-income ObamaCare enrollees will forgo the subsidies.
"Some people purchasing coverage through exchanges solely to comply with the individual mandate will be focused on minimizing their premium payments and thus will continue to choose bronze plans," the CBO said.
