ObamaCare Continues to Fail: 31 Million People Can’t Afford Healthcare

High out-of-pocket costs or deductibles resulted in 31 million people becoming underinsured last year, nearly double the amount in 2003.

obamacareThe new estimates released by the Commonwealth Fund Wednesday illustrate that Obamacare may not be doing enough to provide healthcare at an affordable cost. The study shows that more Americans are not feeling the slowdown in healthcare costs in their wallets.

The problem is most Americans, more than 150 million people, get their insurance through their work, the think tank said.

Before Obamacare, employer coverage was “generally far more comprehensive than individual market coverage,” the study said. “However, premium cost pressures over the past decade have led companies to share increasing amounts of their health costs with workers, particularly in the forms of higher deductibles.”

Someone is considered underinsured if his or her out-of-pocket costs, excluding premiums, over the past year equal 10 percent or more of his or her income, or if his or her deductible is 5 percent or more of his or her income. In addition, underinsurance occurs if the out-of-pocket costs are equal to 5 percent or more of household income if income is under 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The poverty level is $22,980 for an individual and $47,100 for a family of four.

The figures were culled from the Commonwealth Fund’s 2014 Biennial Health Insurance Survey, which interviewed about 3,000 people. The survey age was between 19 and 64 years old.

While the number of underinsured have nearly doubled since 2003, the first time it was measured, the number is essentially unchanged from 2012.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/31-million-people-cant-afford-healthcare/article/2564763

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