9 Deductibles over 5% of income are also considered underinsurance.īeing underinsured is comparable to being uninsured. 8Ī standard definition of underinsurance sets 10% as the maximum for out-of-pocket costs for most people and 5% for people with incomes under 200% of the poverty level. 7 But for an employee earning $15/hour, it would take 6 weeks of paychecks to cover the deductible. A $3,000 deductible, which one-in-ten employees have, may not be a major financial obstacle for someone earning $100,000. While deductibles and copayments can help discourage unnecessary use of health care services, they can also discourage necessary care – especially if the cost-sharing requirements are out-of-line with an individual’s income. 6įor an employee earning $15/hour, it would take 6 weeks of paychecks to cover a $3,000 deductible. The percentage of non-elderly adults without adequate coverage has jumped from 12% in 2003 to 28% in 2017 according to a survey by the Commonwealth Foundation. This problem has been growing worse as health care costs have increased. What good is coverage if it doesn’t provide access to needed care? Forty-one million working-age adults who have coverage also have high deductibles, copays, and coinsurance (also called out-of-pocket costs), which create an obstacle to care and a financial risk for families. Problem #1: A Patchwork of Cost Protections Everyone pays too much for health care as incentives push health care providers and manufacturers to drive up costs instead of driving up value.29 million Americans lack coverage because of specific gaps in federal and state policy.41 million Americans have inadequate coverage with high deductibles that are a barrier to care and financially risky due to a patchwork of cost protections.Even without Republican efforts to sabotage the ACA, health care faces three big problems: 3īut our nation has far more to do to ensure stable and secure coverage for all. 2 Americans now have coverage for pre-existing conditions and a host of other consumer protections. 1 Since 2010, the nation’s growth in health care costs has slowed to half the rate it was in the previous decade. It has covered 22 million more Americans, which includes 18 million working adults. And it fulfills the promise of stable, secure, affordable health care for everyone.
It provides a unifying platform action that builds on Obamacare instead of starting from scratch while also borrowing ideas from progressives seeking an expansion of Medicare coverage. It reduces out-of-pocket costs including surprise bills, bends the cost curve on national health care expenditures, and is affordable for taxpayers with a price tag at a fraction of what other universal health care proposals cost. It includes a Medicare Early Start public plan option for those in the individual market between ages 55 and 64. Our proposal preserves and improves the coverage that people already have through their employers, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. We can boldly finish the job by reforming and expanding the ACA to ensure that coverage is universal and truly affordable for all. Twenty-nine million people still lack coverage altogether. Forty-one million people still struggle to pay health care bills due to coverage gaps. But rising health care costs still squeeze paychecks and drive up deductibles. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) laid the foundation for this by protecting everyone with a pre-existing condition and expanding coverage.
The United States can ensure that every single person in the country has stable health coverage and lower out-of-pocket costs-without disrupting anyone’s coverage through their employer, Medicare, Medicaid, or the exchanges.
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