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1.6 Million Adults Stuck in Health Insurance Coverage Gap Across 10 States
States Weigh Medicaid Expansion as Uninsured Struggle with High Premiums
A significant problem known as the “coverage gap” affects approximately 1.6 million working-age adults in ten U.S. states that have not expanded Medicaid. According to Stateline, these Americans make too much money to be eligible for Medicaid but not enough to get assistance with purchasing health insurance through the marketplace. Nearly 20% of working-age adults in these states lack insurance, according to a new research by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. More than 25% of persons in Alabama and Mississippi without health insurance are left without access to reasonably priced plans. The Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare was designed to address this problem by allowing states to expand Medicaid to cover Americans with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. The federal government would cover most of the costs with states contributing a smaller share. However, the ten states that chose not to expand Medicaid have left many residents without affordable options.
According to Jennifer Tolbert of KFF, the majority of Americans who are affected by the coverage gap are employed in low-paying sectors like construction or service and do not have access to reasonably priced health insurance via their employers. Medicaid eligibility in Alabama for example is limited to individuals earning up to 18% of the federal poverty line or around $4,678 annually for a family of three. Americans must earn at least 100% of the poverty line to receive subsidies for marketplace plans leaving those in the gap facing premiums of hundreds of dollars per month. Despite the challenges, there are signs that some states might reconsider expanding Medicaid. In Mississippi though Governor Tate Reeves opposes Medicaid expansion there was recent bipartisan support in the legislature for a version of the expansion with work requirements. However, the bill failed to pass.
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1.6 Million Americans Trapped in Insurance Coverage Gap: Will States Expand Medicaid? (PHOTO: Quora)
Experts Urge Medicaid Expansion as Critical Safety Net for Low-Income Adults
Furthermore, James C. Capretta from the American Enterprise Institute argues that Medicaid expansion is essential for providing safety net insurance to Americans in this income bracket. Mississippi state Rep. Robert Johnson believes that this issue affects all communities and is not a matter of political ideology. In Mississippi the business community has started to support Medicaid expansion which might push the state towards reconsidering its position. The situation remains uncertain but there is cautious optimism that more states might act to close the coverage gap in the future.
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