Top U.S. Healthcare Official Seema Verma, the Administrator of CMS, announced this week that a new report shows 2.5 million “unsubsidized” Americans left the ACA exchanges last year. The report went on to explain that this unsubsidized group has declined by 40% from 2016 to 2018. This is yet more evidence of what we’ve been reporting on USHealthshare.com, that the majority of Americans are getting “squeezed” by Obamacare!
“As President Trump predicted, people are fleeing the individual market. Obamacare is failing the American people, and the ongoing exodus of the unsubsidized population from the market proves that Obamacare’s sky-high premiums are unaffordable,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
The New Report
The new report from the CMS on the state of ACA healthcare and the use of insurance exchanges noted that while the total number of enrollees who paid their first monthly bill remains basically unchanged from one year ago — 10.6 million — the market is increasingly dependent on subsidized customers.
Noting that about 2.5 million unsubsidized people left the ACA exchanges between 2016 and 2018, a 40 percent drop, Verma took to Twitter to explain the importance of the impact:
With 9 states losing more than 40% of their unsubsidized enrollment, the Trends in Subsidized & Unsubsidized Enrollment Report demonstrates why ongoing efforts to promote market stability & lower premiums remain a priority for the Trump Administration. https://t.co/vmPQTLMo9o pic.twitter.com/vy8YIXwD1N
— Administrator Seema Verma (@SeemaCMS) August 12, 2019
As for why this happened and when? We all know it was due to the introduction of Obamacare in 2014, but Verma had even more data to support this exodus and its correlation to rising costs:
As premiums spiked—including increases of 21 percent in 2017 and 26 percent in 2018—enrollment has dropped sharply among unsubsidized people who must pay the full premium. https://t.co/vmPQTLMo9o pic.twitter.com/bnzmPlogKd
— Administrator Seema Verma (@SeemaCMS) August 12, 2019
“CMS’s Early 2019 Effectuated Enrollment Report & Trends in Subsidized & Unsubsidized Enrollment Report are now out & place a spotlight on the millions of Americans priced out of the market by high premiums that quickly emerged after the ACA’s main regulations took effect in 2014, ” Tweeted Verma.
CMS’s Early 2019 Effectuated Enrollment Report & Trends in Subsidized & Unsubsidized Enrollment Report are now out & place a spotlight on the millions of Americans priced out of the market by high premiums that quickly emerged after the ACA’s main regulations took effect in 2014. pic.twitter.com/MlxScVI93n
— Administrator Seema Verma (@SeemaCMS) August 12, 2019
The BIG Squeeze
You can read more about this report on the CMS.gov website. As most Americans continue to turn away from unaffordable Obamacare, more and more are turning toward medical health share programs as a viable answer to this problem. Why?
- At last count (2017), employer coverage accounted for 57% of healthcare coverage
- But more than 99% of employing organizations are small and medium businesses; AND more than 95% have fewer than 10 employees!
- With the rise of the gig economy, up to 50% of the workforce will now be without adequate employer coverage because they are part of The BIG Healthcare Squeeze.
Which is to say these people are part of the growing majority that is not on Medicaid, Medicare, ACA-subsidized nor a large employer plan. These are people like YOU! Most of US! And something has to be done.
At USHealthshare.com, we’re doing our part to educate YOU about the many affordable, quality healthcare options. Please let us know how we can help.