By Mary Ann McRae
Understanding health insurance is not easy for the average consumer. The passing of recent legislature in the United States has affected everyone, but very few know by how much.
The Background
The goal of the Affordable Care Act is to increase coverage and lower the costs of health care. The ACA calls for the creation of an insurance exchange in which insurance providers compete with one another with the goal of lowering premiums and increasing coverage.1 Insurance companies now report, however, that the costs of the ACA are much higher than expected.
The Economy
The competition drives the rates down, but costs have increased because providers must be less discriminatory in taking on clients under the ACA.2 From the time that the ACA was approved in 2010 until it was put in effect in 2014 there was a 40 percent increase in health administration and private insurance costs in the United States.3
In the case of persons receiving health benefits from their employer, employees take on 20 percent of the rising costs.4 In Arizona, for example, “premiums for some plans will be more than double this year.”5 Premiums in nearly all states have increased.
The Effect
The question is, has this new monopoly-like state in the Marketplace left us worse off? The government subsidies are footing the bill for many people. They receive more than they would have and for less money, but at what cost? Prices for those who do not receive subsidies are increasing. Is the rising cost worth the increased coverage?
Read the full article for a more in depth look!
a-beginners-guide-to-health-insurance
Sources
1 Cooper, R, & Gardner, L 2016, ‘Extensive Changes and Major Challenges Encountered in Health Insurance Markets under the Affordable Care Act’, Journal Of Financial Service Professionals, 70, 5, pp. 53-71, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 November 2016
2 Levitt, Larry, Cynthia Cox, & Gary Claxton. “How Has the Individual Insurance Market Grown Under the Affordable Care Act?” Kaiser Family Foundation – Health Policy Research, Analysis, Polling, Facts, Data and Journalism. May 12, 2015. Accessed November 25, 2016. http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/data-note-how-has-the-individual-insurance-market-grown-under-the-affordable-care-act/.
3 US Department of Health and Human Services. n.d. U.S. government health administration and net cost of private health insurance from 1960 to 2014 (in billion U.S. dollars)*. Statista. Accessed 29 November, 2016. Available from https://www-statista-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/statistics/184703/us-health-administration-costs-and-health-insurance-since-1960/.
4 Depew, B, & Bailey, J 2015, ‘Did the Affordable Care Act’s dependent coverage mandate increase premiums?’, Journal Of Health Economics, 41, pp. 1-14, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 November 2016.
5 Wilde Matthews, Anna. “Inside the Affordable Care Act’s Arizona Meltdown.” The Wall Street Journal. 31 October 2016. Accessed 15 November 2016. http://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-affordable-care-acts-arizona-meltdown-1477925051.
Through a Glass 