Dive Brief:
- According to a new analysis released by HHS, Americans who qualify for tax credits to the health exchanges pay an average of $82 a month in premiums, or about one-fourth of the cost they'd assume without such a subsidy.
- That being said, there's wide variations from state to state in premiums the people pay, the amount the government offers in support and the proportion who qualify for subsidies.
- The federal government has previously noted that 87% of 5.4 million consumers who bought a health plan through the exchanges qualified for some form of subsidy.
Dive Insight:
While HHS didn't analyze the incomes of people qualifying for subsidies, its research did offer a look at how much the federal government is spending to bring people onto the exchanges. HHS research found that the average monthly tax rate this year is $264 — and that consumers would've paid $346 per month without the subsidy. However, these numbers don't take into account out-of-pocket expenses health plans impose, so their actual healthcare spending is likely to be significantly higher than the premium cost alone.