Experts do not expect large enrollment gains as a result of this policy, because most higher-income Americans already carry insurance. But it would provide economic relief to families that in some cases are spending 15 percent or even 20 percent of their income on premiums.
I think of self-employed folks and people who work in the gig economy as being in this group, Ms. Lueck said. There is not another population that pays the full cost of their health insurance like they currently do.
For Americans just above the current premium subsidy cutoff, the impact could be large: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that a family of four earning $110,000 would see monthly premiums for a midlevel health plan fall to $779 from $1,529.
The Biden proposal also describes a second policy that appears to be aimed at increasing subsidies for those who already qualify. These are low-income Americans, who make up the majority of those who still lack coverage in the United States. These people already receive help buying coverage, but are still left with paying a monthly premium share that can be unaffordable.
For this group, the Biden plan proposes increasing the tax credits to lower health premiums or even eliminate them. The proposal does not detail how this would be achieved, but analysts expect the incoming White House to use as a model the legislation that House Democrats passed this summer.
That bill lowered the share of income that poor Americans are expected to pay for their coverage. Someone earning 150 percent of the federal poverty line ($19,140 for an individual), for example, would go from paying as much as 4 percent of income for a midlevel health plan to paying nothing if the House Democrats proposal became law.
Numerous academic studies show that premium subsidies are the strongest driver of health law enrollment. Experts say this type of large increase, directed toward low-income Americans, could drive millions more to sign up.read more
Biden and Obamacare: One Sentence in Stimulus Plan Reveals Health Care Approach
