Author: Robert King
Fierce Health
The population on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) exchanges that do not get subsidies declined by 45% from 2016 to 2019, a new report from the Trump administration found.
“While premiums have stabilized, middle class Americans can’t afford Obamacare’s expensive premiums,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma in a statement Friday.
But this is the third consecutive year in a row it has been on a decline. Last year, unsubsidized enrollment dropped by more than 300,000 beneficiaries.
“From 2016 to 2019, unsubsidized enrollment declined by 2.8 million people, representing a 45-percent drop nationally,” CMS said in a release. “Though unsubsidized enrollment continues decreasing, the rate of decline dropped to 9% in 2019—down from a 20% drop in 2017 and a 24% drop in 2018.”
CMS said the lower rate of decline mirrors a relatively stable period of premiums on the exchanges.
Meanwhile, enrollment among the subsidized portion of the exchanges continues to grow.
“The subsidized portion of the market was 140% larger than the unsubsidized portion in 2019, up from 122% larger in 2018 and 61% in 2017,” the report said.
Overall, enrollment in the ACA exchanges has remained stable. Last year, an average 10.2 million individuals had paid for their coverage, a slight decline from 2018.