While the courts can’t seem to reach consensus on Obamacare, the reformed health care system keeps posting some big numbers.
A new study estimates that more than 10 million adults gained health insurance by midyear as the coverage expansion under President Barack Obama’s law took hold in much of the country. A special enrollment period continues through mid-November.
Meanwhile, Affordable Care Act figures released this morning by the Obama administration show that insurance companies across the nation will rebate a combined $332 million to 6.8 million consumers who are, for the most part, covered by employer-based health care benefits.
Those rebate checks are due to the ACA’s 80/20 provision.
For individual and small group plans a minimum of 80 percent of premiums must be spent directly on medical care. If a company exceeds 20 percent on overhead, marketing, advertising and profits, it must rebate to its customers an amount that puts them in line with the 80/20 rule. For a large group plan, the standard is 85/15.
As for the study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that the share of Americans ages 18 to 64 without insurance dropped by a little more than 5 percentage points.
States that embraced the Obamacare Medicaid expansion saw significant coverage gains among low-income uninsured people. About half the states have expanded their Medicaid coverage.
The ACA offers subsidized private insurance for low- and middle-income people who don’t have access to coverage through their jobs.
The Associated Press reported that the latest study results are in line with findings by Gallup polling and with estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
Over at the Department of Health and Human Services, officials announced that the deterrence effect of the 80/20 rule has made a huge difference. As insurers rein in premium costs, HHS said $3.8 billion was saved up front on premium costs across the nation.
For consumers who bought individual and family policies, rebates may come as a check in the mail, a reimbursement to a bank account or a direct reduction in future premiums. If the insurance came through the workplace, the employer must provide the refund in one of those ways or use it in another way that directly benefits employees, the law says.
