Robert King of the Washington Examiner highlights interesting information about responses to the Affordable Care Act among people of modest means.
Making healthcare more affordable is a hallmark of Obamacare, but a recent survey found that six in 10 uninsured adults cited the high costs of coverage as a reason they still don’t have coverage.
The survey from the left-leaning think tank Urban Institute and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that half of uninsured adults reported difficulty paying for housing or food in the past year. …
… The problem isn’t just that the uninsured don’t know about the expansion of Medicaid or the Obamacare exchanges. More than a quarter of potentially eligible uninsured adults were aware of Obamacare subsidies and even looked for healthcare plans in the marketplace, Urban said.
“These uninsured adults appear to be informed and engaged yet still cite financial reasons for being uninsured,” according to a report on the survey, which interviewed about 7,500 Americans. …
… A majority of the uninsured adults say they value health insurance, but it is not a top priority.
However, that could change next year, when the penalty for not having insurance increases, said Kathy Hempstead, who directs the foundation’s work on health insurance coverage.
This year, the penalty was $95 per person or 1 percent of household income, whichever amount was highest. But it goes up to $325 per person or 2 percent of household income next year.
