Technically that last example is a hair lower than the highest Alaska household, but remember, the Alaska example was based on the couple earning $110,000/yr, since AK has a higher FPL threshold. The West Virginia example is a 64-yr old couple in Charleston who earn $90,000/year.
$4,898 x 12 = $58,776/year. That would theoretically cost this couple 2/3 of their ENTIRE GROSS INCOME just in premiums alone. Needless to say, NO ONE is going to actually do this unless they're TRULY desperate...ie, they have extremely expensive medical problems and can't get coverage otherwise.
In other words, while many ACA enrollees will downgrade their plans to mitigate the premium hikes (Gold to Silver, Silver to Bronze, PPO to HMO, etc), millions more will simply be PRICED OUT OF THE MARKET and will have to drop coverage entirely. Not only does that mean they'll be uninsured...
Coupled with the disaster at the CDC and RFK Jrs crazy ideas, this is a dangerous disaster ahead. Scary...
...it also means that the *remaining* ACA market will consist of sicker/more expensive-to-treat enrollees on average...which, in turn, will cause premiums to go up further and so on. This is called the beginnings of a "Death Spiral."
Would be Solved by Medicare for All
True…except that if we had M4All at the moment, it would mean literally the ENTIRE healthcare system would be under RFK Jrs personal control instead of only half of it.
That would be scary 😨 😳
Fortunately, the *pre-IRA* subsidies should remain in place (assuming the ACA survives at all), which will prevent a full "Death Spiral" from taking place...but millions will lose coverage entirely, while millions more will be shifted to worse coverage with higher deductibles, smaller networks, etc.
WHEW! Done. Anyway, this project has taken a TON of time & effort. If yoiu find my healthcare wonkery useful & would like to support it (which would also help with my own pending premium hikes, I should note...), you can do so here, thank you! secure.actblue.com/donate/acasi...
Thank you ☺️
Thank you for all this analysis, it was very enlightening. I made a contribution of $30. I appreciate all the work that went into this endeavor.
Thank you!