Some young men say they never go to the doctor. Why, they ask, should they buy into Obamacare?
Obamacare saboteurs are urging them to boycott the state marketplaces (a.k.a. the “Exchanges”) where people who don’t have health benefits at work will be able to buy their own insurance.
What reform’s opponent don’t tell them is that under Obamacare, a 25-year-old waiter who lives in North Los Angeles and earns $17,200 a year will be able to purchase coverage from one of the state’s highest-rated insurers, Kaiser Permanente, for just $33 a month.
How can this be? One word: “Subsidies.”
Next year some 11 million young adults (18-34) who are now either uninsured or buying their own (usually bare-bones) insurance will be able to purchase excellent coverage in the Exchanges. Since some 9 million of the 11 million earn less than $45,960 a year ($62,040 for a couple) they will be eligible for tax credits to help cover the premiums. Fully 96% of the youngest (21-27) will qualify for subsidies, says Linda Blumberg, a health policy analyst at the bipartisan Urban Institute.
Now that states have begun to announce the rates insurers will be charging in their marketplaces, we can move past speculation to discuss what young adults in particular cities actually will be paying, after applying those tax credits.
Fear-mongers should blush.
Why Bronze Plans Will Be Popular
The example of a 25-year-old waiter in North L.A. buying coverage for just $33 a month assumes that he purchases Kaiser Permanente’s “Bronze plan.