Insurance premiums are just one piece of the health care affordability puzzle for many Americans. Out-of-pocket expenses, which are less predictable, also impact the family budget.
Those out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copayments, and the like now average more than $1,600 a year per person. That’s on top of insurance premiums, which run about $27,000 for a family plan.
Obamacare aimed to help with both expenses—premiums and out-of-pocket costs—by providing federal subsidies for low-to-middle-class Americans.
There are two kinds of subsidies, one to help with premiums and the other for out-of-pocket spending.
The first subsidies, called advance premium tax credits, are paid directly to insurance companies to reduce premium payments. These are open to people making up to about $62,600 per year, or around $107,000 for a family of three….
This Feature of Obamacare Was Supposed to Cut Costs. It Did the Opposite.
