The new $1.9 trillion COVID economic recovery package won't just provide relief checks to eligible Americans. It's also likely to deliver serious savings to the 14.9 million Americans who buy health insurance on their own.
The individual health insurance market serves those who don't get coverage from an employer or through a public program, such as Medicare for seniors. The COVID recovery package includes a commendable, though temporary measure that boosts and expands financial aid for those who purchase a health plan through MNsure or other online marketplaces set up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Many consumers who previously earned too much to qualify for this assistance will be newly eligible. And those who already qualified when they signed up for a plan should see additional savings in monthly premium costs.
MNsure has run some early calculations on how the stimulus package, dubbed the American Rescue Plan, will help Minnesotans better afford health insurance. CEO Nate Clark shared several scenarios Wednesday at a board meeting:
• Annual savings of $1,584 for a Ramsey County household of two people in their 30s who make $35,000 a year.
• A family of four in northwest Minnesota's Polk County, with parents in their 40s, making $75,000 a year could see coverage costs decrease by $3,000 a year.
• A Mower County couple ages 59 and 61 with a household income of $75,000 could save a stunning $18,060 annually.
There's a wow factor in that third example, and there's a reason for it. While the ACA helped many people better afford coverage, it also had a built-in "cliff." Eligibility for its financial aid ended when yearly incomes reached 400% or more of the federal poverty level. That's $51,040 for a one-person household, $68,960 for two people and $104,800 for four people.
