Americans Drop Health Insurance Coverage as Prices Rise

In 2017, health insurance prices rose by an average of over twenty percent across the United States. Americans who qualified for the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies maintained their insurance, but those who earned too much to qualify for financial help increasingly appear to have dropped their coverage.

A new government report shows that about one million people let their health insurance coverage lapse last year. For the first time, the Department of Health and Human Services is looking at people who buy their own insurance but do not qualify for federal subsidies.

For individuals who earn about $48,000, they must pay full price for their healthcare. The Trump Administration has reduced advertising for the insurance enrollment periods and has made it more difficult for people to sign up for insurance later in the year.

The Administration has also taken steps that are likely to raise the prices of health insurance even higher, including eliminating payments to insurance companies that are meant to help offset the cost of covering the lowest-income patients. Additionally, as of January 2019, individuals who do not have health insurance will no longer need to pay a fine, and “short-term limited duration” insurance is being proposed that will provide fewer benefits and can reject people with histories of illness. These changes will draw healthier individuals out of the market and raise prices for those who stay.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Administration’s policies will raise insurance prices by over ten percent.