Archive: Opinions

Now that Americans are enrolled in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), statistics are starting to come in about how it is impacting enrollees.  The numbers of uninsured vary dramatically across the United States.  As it happens, New York is doing pretty well, ranking 14th in a list of states (in which lower numbers are assigned to states that are doing better at getting their citizens insured.  Massachusetts ranks #1, while Texas has the worst ranking.

Before the ACA 13.39% of New Yorkers were uninsured.  The projected rate of uninsured after the ACA in New York is 10.16%.  3.23% more are expected to be insured because of Obamacare.  Part of the rise can be attributed to New York expanding Medicaid coverage.  WalletHub.com recently published a report ranking the states for effectiveness in getting people enrolled.

A new Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey found that roughly two-thirds of those with non-group coverage are now in ACA-compliant plans.  Three in ten have coverage they purchased before the ACA rules went into effect.  Those who enrolled in in ACA-compliant plans reported 'somewhat worse health' than those who had enrolled in pre-ACA plans.  Most are pleased with the cost of Obamacare plans, though four out of ten still find their premiums hard to afford.

Two thirds said enrolling was easy, but half got help enrolling.  Unsurprisingly those who qualified for subsidies were most likely to say they have benefited from the ACA, and those whose policies were cancelled were least likely.

In New York you apply on the New York State Of Health Marketplace Web site.  The process is fairly well laid out, and is not hard to complete unless the system can't confirm your identity for some reason.  Those who are not Web savvy can enroll by phone, or see a 'Navigator', an actual person who will meet with you and get you enrolled.  There is a Navigator assigned to Ithaca (you find this information on the Web site), so you do not have to travel to Binghamton or Syracuse to get help.  The next enrollment period starts in November.

The WalletHub report notes that blue states have fewer uninsured residents than red states.  Republican-leaning states average a rank of 28.52 uninsured, while Democrat-leaning states average a rank of 15.9 (based on how states voted in the last presidential election).

Grey states on this map received no ranking

The report also notes that a study by RAND estimates that only 28% of new enrollees were previously uninsured.  With less transparency in statistics on privately insured Americans, it is hard to tell what the benefits actually are.  Presumably as the program ages better numbers will become available.

Another thing to consider is that even with subsidized monthly payments, the trend toward high-dollar deductibles and out-of-pocket caps means that affordable health care is not really very affordable for many people, at least if you need to use it. 

WalletHub reports that health insurance coverage in New York is doing comparatively well, but there is room for improvement:

• 10.16% of population lacks health insurance (14th lowest in the country).
• Obamacare reduced the uninsured rate by 3.23 percentage points in one year.
• 36.20% of population under 64 is on Medicaid.
• 370,451 individuals enrolled in private health insurance plans under Obamacare.
• 324,647 individuals enrolled in Medicaid between Summer 2013 and April 2014.

So are people happy with the ACA?  Those who are benefiting from it seem to be.  The others not so much.  It is too early to know what will happen to health insurance, but it is clear that the ACA is not close to 'universal health care' for Americans.  Whether or not that is a good thing depends on who you talk to.

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