A recent CNN report detailed the current Congressional battle to hang onto temporary enhancements made to premium healthcare subsidies by the American Rescue Plan (ARPA). These additions to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed an additional nearly 3 million people to enroll in coverage through the ACA during the 2021 Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that was granted as a part of the ARPA plan.
Last week, a Presidential report stated that Healthcare consumers on ACA Marketplace websites, such as TrueCoverage, would find even lower premiums and more insurance options in 2022. This is terrific news for the recordnumber of 12.2 million Americans currently enrolled in ACA policies but even better for the millions eligible for the enhanced tax credits who do not even realize it yet.
While President Biden’s initial plan included making the ARPA changes to the premium tax credits permanent, the Congressional battle has trimmed the spending package down to just a few years extension of the enhancements.
Read More: Congress Must Extend ARPA Benefits to Keep Premiums Affordable
“Through the enhancements, the typical premium for an ACA silver plan in 2022 will fall by 3 percent per month, making 2022 the fourth year in a row that ACA premiums have fallen, making Marketplace plans even more reasonable”
Beyond the falling premium prices, the enhanced premium tax subsidies allow many the opportunity to find low- or even no-cost insurance through the Marketplace. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, now four out of five consumers can find coverage for a monthly premium of $10 or less, including their enhanced tax credits.
Another benefit of the ARPA package that Congressional Democrats are fighting to extend is the changes made to income requirements by the package that allowed more middle-class Americans access to the premium tax subsidies. For example, people earning over 400 percent of the federal poverty level are now eligible for the program; this works out to an average income of $51,000 for an individual and $104,800 for a family of four.
There are now 213 carriers available through the official Federal ACA Marketplace. Still, Certified Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) partners, such as TrueCoverage’s simple search engine,offer even more insurance providers eligible for the taxsubsidies. TrueCoverage, for example, offers more than 600carriers offering over 50,000 healthcare plans.
Read more on CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/25/politics/affordable-care-act-open-enrollment-2022/
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