ACA Marketplace health plan enrollment hit a record for the fourth year in a row, according to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. This year, more than 24 million Americans signed up for plans in the marketplace—more than doubling the enrollment figure from just 5 years ago and triple that of the inaugural marketplace enrollment numbers in 2014. Regionally, enrollment has more than tripled since 2020 in Texas (growing 255%), Mississippi (242%), West Virginia (234%), Louisiana (234%), Georgia (227%), and Tennessee (221%). Enhanced subsidies—which offered lower premium costs to families with certain income levels since the pandemic—are set to expire this year unless Congress extends them.
Bad debt forecast: Commercial insurers that sell their policies on the marketplace and all segments of provider organizations are lobbying federal legislators for an extension of the enhanced subsidies, hoping to maintain the ranks of the insured. Those with insurance are more likely to seek preventive care, specialty care, primary care, and urgent care, rather than relying exclusively on emergency departments. Providers are concerned about the potential increase in the uninsured and the associated bad debt should a large segment marketplace enrollees opt out of coverage because they suddenly need to pay higher premiums without the added subsidies. Forecasts predict 4 million people would likely become uninsured without the subsidy extension.
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