Nearly 5 in 10 Uninsured Single Young Adults Eligible for the Health Insurance Market-Place Could Pay $50 or Less Per Month for Coverage in 2014.

摘要

Nearly 5 in 10 (46 percent, or 1.3 million) uninsured young adults in single-person households who may be eligible for the Health Insurance Marketplace may be able to purchase a bronze plan for $50 per month or less after tax credits, based on analysis of data in 34 states.1 In these states, a total of 1.9 million young adults, representing nearly 7 in 10 (66 percent) of the potentially Marketplace-eligible uninsured ages 18 to 34,2 may be able to pay $100 or less for coverage in 2014.Under the Affordable Care Act, advanced payment of the premium tax credits will be available to help eligible individuals and families afford insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Young adults ages 18 to 34 in households of any type (e.g., own-family household, single-person household, living away at college, parents’ household) account for 41 percent of the 41.3 million eligible uninsured nationwide.4 Young adults are the age group most likely to be without health. For household size, a “household” is based on an individual’s “health insurance unit” (HIU), which includes adults, their spouses, and their dependent children (ages 0-18, plus full time students under 23), using ASPE analysis of the ACS data. “Single” household status in this context does not necessarily imply single marital status or that an individual lives alone. See the Methodology section of this brief for additional details. We define Marketplace-eligible individuals in this analysis as uninsured U.S. citizens and legal residents with incomes above 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level in Medicaid expansion states or above 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level in non-expansion states. The estimates contained in this brief do not take into account certain Exchange coverage and Medicaid/CHIP eligibility requirements, such as those relating to other minimum essential coverage or tax filing requirements, and thus the populations described in this brief should be construed as “potentially” eligible, subject to these other requirements. For more information about eligibility to purchase coverage in the Marketplace Also, the statutory threshold for Medicaid expansion set by the Affordable Care Act is 133 percent of the FPL, not 138 percent of the FPL. This brief refers throughout to 138 percent of the FPL, which is the effective threshold including the 5 percent statutory disregard.