Ali Meyer of the Washington Free Beacon shares poll results that bode ill for the Affordable Care Act’s future viability.
More than half of Americans—52.5 percent—say they cannot afford to spend more than $100 a month on health insurance premiums, according to a poll from HealthPocket, a technology company that compares health plans.
The group asked survey respondents at the beginning of open enrollment what was the highest monthly premium they could afford to pay for health insurance in 2017.
More than half of respondents said $100 a month or less, while 15.9 percent said they could afford to spend $200 a month.
Just over 11 percent said they could afford $300 a month, 5.5 percent said they could afford $400 a month, and 4.8 percent said they could spend $500 a month, while and 9.8 percent said they could afford $500 or more.
“Double-digit rate increases for people purchasing insurance in the Affordable Care Act market has renewed questions regarding what people can afford to pay for coverage,” the survey states.
A higher percentage of women said that $100 was the most they could spend a month on health insurance premiums. Fifty-seven percent of women said this was the case compared to 47.4 percent of men.
In addition, 60.1 percent of millennials between the ages of 18 and 34, a group that is attractive to insurers because they are healthier and less likely to use health care services, said that they could only spend $100 per month on premiums.
