Showing posts with label Covid-19 relief bill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Covid-19 relief bill. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 09, 2021

Under Covid relief bill, no Obamacare enrollee should have coverage less than valuable than gold

Subscribe to xpostfactoid

It's here! After five years in which progressives have dreamed of boosting the generosity of subsidies in the ACA marketplace, the framework for half the Covid relief bill released by the House Ways and Means yesterday would do so temporarily, for 2021 and 2022. The subsidy schedule is even more generous than that of the Affordable Care Enhancement Act passed by the House last June (and left to die in the Senate, natch). Here are the percentages of income required to purchase a benchmark (second cheapest) silver plan (Part 7, beginning on p. 83):Enhanced ACA subsidy framework

Keep in mind that Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) raises the actuarial value of a silver plan from a baseline of 70% (which leaves very high out-of-pocket costs) to 94% at incomes up to 150% FPL (where it's free) and to 87% -- better than most employer-sponsored plans at incomes ranging from 150-200% FPL.  This radical change may happen fast, and be effective immediately. The implications are kind of dizzying. Three notes: