1 in 10 Americans share the same Obamacare fear

More Americans support the ACA than ever, but a significant majority is worried about one thing in their new insurance policies.

Insurance News

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Support for Obamacare is at an all-time high. According to a recent Reuters poll, 60% of Americans are now in favor of healthcare reform and 56% say they hope the Supreme Court will retain government-provided subsidies.

However, one thing unites Americans more than any other when it comes to the ACA. Only one in 10 surveyed by Reuters said they believed the Supreme Court will rule on King v. Burwell – the case deciding the future of subsidies – based on their personal opinions of the ACA, not the merits of the case.

In fact, 48% said they didn’t believe the Court could decide the case impartially.

King v. Burwell will decide whether the ACA allows the federal government to provide subsidies to policyholders in states whose government did not elect to create their own insurance exchange. If subsidies are struck down, industry experts warn that Americans in 34 states will likely be unable to afford insurance and that the employer mandate, too, would be rendered toothless.

“If federal premium tax credits are no longer available to eligible enrollees in FFM states, enrollment could decline precipitously,” the American Academy of Actuaries said in a March letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. “Moreover, individuals with high-cost healthcare needs would be more likely to remain enrolled, while those with low-cost healthcare needs would be more likely to exit the market.”

The group is particularly concerned that health insurers are required to file their 2016 plan year premiums in May—more than a month before justices are expected to reach a decision in the case. That means the industry would not be able to insulate itself from fallout resulting from such a ruling.

Additionally, the consequences could trigger a death spiral, the letter warns.

For health insurance agents, it would mean attempting to sell policies to consumers who—on average—would face an immediate 322% increase in premium if they lost their tax credit, according to HHS data. And it isn’t just residents in affected states who would see their insurance bill go up. A RAND study suggests the shock to the market could lead insurers to raise premiums by an additional 47% on average.

The Reuters poll interviewed 1,800 Americans who got their health insurance through a government-created insurance exchange.
 

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