Thread by @charles_gaba

📣 #ACA 2.0! @POTUS Biden's #AmRescuePlan is expected to include #HR369, the Healthcare Affordability Act, which would #KillTheCliff & #UpTheSubs.

Here's examples of how much 8 different households could save in healthcare premiums if it becomes law. 1/
acasignups.net/21/02/04/aca-2…

IMPORTANT: The following examples are based on the *average* premium for a 2021 benchmark Silver #ACA plan. Actual savings will vary widely depending on where you live, your household makeup/ages and your household income. 2/

"YOUNG INVINCIBLE": A single 26-year old would save as much as $122/month or nearly $1,500/year compared to the current #ACA subsidy formula: 3/

"AGING MILLENIAL": A single 40-year old would similarly save up to $1,500/year. Also remember that ACA subsidies can be used to buy *any* exchange plans besides the benchmark Silver: 4/

"GENERATION X": A single 50-year old would save up to $270/month or over $3,200/year. This is where you begin to see why it's called the "Subsidy Cliff": 5/

"WAITING FOR MEDICARE": While Biden's larger healthcare plan calls for lowering the Medicare buy-in age to 60, in the meantime, #HR369 would save a single 64-year old up to $700/month or nearly $8,400/year: 6/

Next, let's look at households with more than one person.

"SINGLE PARENT": A 30-yr old single parent w/1 child would save up to $160/month or nearly $2,000/year: 7/

"NUCLEAR FAMILY": A 40-yr old couple with 2 children would save up to $610/month or over $7,300/year in premiums: 8/

"NOT-QUITE EMPTY NESTERS": A 50-year old couple with a college-age child still on their healthcare plan would save up to $1,000/month or as much as $12,000/year: 9/

Finally, here's a 60-year old couple. At this point the "Subsidy Cliff" has become a Subsidy Chasm. Right now, if they earn even $1 over the cut-off threshold (around $69,000/year), they're screwed. Under #HR369, they'd save up to $1,430/mo or up to $17,100/year. 10/

Here's a table w/the maximum potential savings for each household. I've further broken them into those already eligible for #ACA subsidies (who'd see add'l help) and those not currently eligible (i.e., the "cliff" crowd).

Again, these are based on *avg* premiums nationally: 11/

So what's the MOST that a household could THEORETICALLY save under #HR369?

The most expensive indy market #ACA benchmark premiums in the country can be found in KAY COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, where, at full price, a 21-yr old would pay an absurd $710/month. 12/
acasignups.net/21/02/04/aca-2…

In Kay County, Oklahoma, under #HR369, the same 26-year old single adult who I said could save an *average* of up to $1,466/year nationally would actually save as much as $4,100/year: 13/

HERE'S THE JAW-DROPPER: Take the same 60-year old couple from earlier who I noted would go from paying as much as $23,000/year in premiums on average, and move them to Kay County, OK.

Guess how much they'd have to pay for the benchmark plan at full price? 14/

In Kay County, OK, the same 60-yr old couple would currently have to pay up to $45,000/yr if they earn just a little more than the subsidy cut-off...or 65% of their annual income.

Under #HR369 this drops to no more than 8.5%, saving them up to $39,000/yr. That's not a typo. 15/

For all of these, it's also important to understand that #ACA SUBSIDIES CAN BE APPLIED TO *ANY* EXCHANGE PLAN. That means you could use a large benchmark Silver plan subsidy to help pay for a Bronze, Gold or Platinum plan instead. In some cases the net premium could be $0.

As an aside, that's actually already the case for some people today: @KFF estimates that up to 4.5 million uninsured Americans are *already* eligible for FREE BRONZE PLANS today, and in some counties they may be eligible for a free GOLD plan: kff.org/policy-watch/m…

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