(LEX 18) — Many Americans are facing substantial increases in health care costs as Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire soon, creating what one policy expert calls a "ticking clock" that has been counting down since 2021.
About 90,000 Kentuckians buy their health insurance on kynect, the state's health insurance marketplace. Around 75,000 of those residents received letters at the beginning of this open enrollment period informing them that their health insurance premiums would increase by about $100 per month.
"Now that we're here, I think a lot of folks are maybe not surprised, but they are seeing some sticker shock," said Dustin Pugel, policy director at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
Pugel has done extensive research leading up to the fast-approaching deadline when premium costs will skyrocket on New Year's Day if Congress doesn't renew Affordable Care Act subsidies.
The impact affects Kentuckians in all 120 counties. In Fayette County, 2.2% of residents have a qualified health plan through the marketplace, totaling about 7,379 people.
"Their logging on right now and seeing really large increases that they're having to make really difficult choices about," Pugel said.
Pugel outlined several scenarios of monthly costs for benchmark health insurance plans on kynect if Congress doesn't renew the subsidies. Despite the challenging situation, he remains hopeful there may be some breakthrough in negotiations regarding a potential two-year extension of Obamacare subsidies.
"It's not about partisan politics," Pugel added. He notes that there's a buyer beware issue that's worth pointing out.
"There are a lot of what are called 'junk plans' that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act and other parts of federal law. I would just encourage people not to google 'health insurance.' if you need help with health insurance, talk to an insurance broker, a connector or go to kynect.ky.gov.
