IRVINE – Covered California is proposing premium hikes on California of 9% next year, and they are making it crystal clear where the blame lands: with California Republican Reps. McClintock, Denham, Valadao, Nunes, Knight, Walters, and Hunter for their reckless gutting of the Affordable Care Act.
“[Covered California Executive Director] Lee said the elimination of the penalty for those who choose not to buy health insurance had a negative impact on rates for 2019. Carriers added between 2.5 and 6 percent to their rates, with an average of 3.5 percent, due to concerns that the removal of the penalty will lead to a less healthy and costlier consumer pool.
Covered California estimates the 3.5 percent increase added to the rates will mean Californians will be spending more than $400 million more on their health care coverage in 2019. While subsidized consumers will be protected from this increase, since the amount of financial help they receive will also increase, the federal government will end up paying an estimated $250 million more in higher tax credits. Unsubsidized consumers on- and off-exchange will bear the full brunt of the increase.
“The cost of the penalty removal will manifest for unsubsidized consumers in higher rates. While subsidized people will not bear the full costs, taxpayers will,” Lee said. “The additional losers from this policy change will be those who decide to roll the dice, go without coverage, and end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.”
Lee said some federal changes will affect more than just rates in 2019. The elimination of the penalty for going without health insurance will likely affect enrollment.
Covered California estimates that the elimination of the individual mandate penalty could reduce enrollment in California’s individual market by 262,000 consumers in 2019. Analysis conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the removal of the individual mandate penalty could also result in uncompensated care rising by $1,000 per newly uninsured person. If all uncompensated care costs — that are not covered elsewhere — were shifted to private insurance, the cost of employer-sponsored coverage could increase by between 2 and 4 percent, a cost that would most likely be shared between the employer and the employee.
The GOP Tax Scam removed a key pillar of the Affordable Care Act without any type of replacement – a move that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office made clear would lead to higher premiums and fewer Americans having health insurance. Now, that’s exactly what is happening.
“California congressional Republicans recklessly gutted the Affordable Care Act in order to give a huge tax handout to large corporations, and now hundreds of thousands of working families in California are going to pay the price,” said DCCC spokesperson Drew Godinich. “This is a moral and political catastrophe, and with these painful premium increases being finalized, there is no question that voters are going to punish House Republicans for this all-out assault on their personal financial security.”