The White House said on Jan. 28, 2022, that a record 14.5 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) marketplaces since Nov. 1, including more than 10 million enrollments through HealthCare.gov.
“Health care should be a right, not a privilege, for all Americans. And one year into my Administration, we are making that right a reality for a record number of people,” said President Joe Biden.
Last year’s stimulus bill contained substantial investments in the program, including increased subsidies for people who don’t receive health insurance from an employer or through Medicare or Medicaid.
People who signed up by Dec. 15 saw their new policies kick in on Jan. 1. People who signed up between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15 saw their health coverage begin on Feb. 1.
“Health care should be a right, not a privilege, for all Americans. And one year into my Administration, we are making that right a reality for a record number of people—bringing down costs and increasing access for families across the country,” President Joe Biden said.
“This did not happen by accident. The American Rescue Plan did more to lower costs and expand access to health care than any action since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
“It made quality coverage more affordable than ever—with families saving an average of $2,400 on their annual premiums, and four out of five consumers finding quality coverage for under $10 a month. As a result, millions of our fellow Americans have now gained the security and peace of mind that dependable health insurance brings.”
Credit is being given to several of the tenets of the American Rescue Plan passed in March 2021, which significantly expanded subsidies for more middle-income Americans.
“That law eliminated the income cap for subsidy eligibility in 2021 and 2022, and also made subsidies larger for 2021 and 2022, by reducing the percentage of income that people have to pay to buy the benchmark plan (second-lowest-cost silver plan),” Louise Norris, a licensed broker and analyst for healthinsurance.org, told Healthline. “All of that is still in effect for 2022, so people who are shopping now will tend to see larger subsidies than they saw during last fall’s open enrollment period.”
The new law expands subsidies to ensure that no family spends more than 8.5 percent of their income on a benchmark plan.
According to federal officials, that should net out to a savings of $50 a person a month or $85 a policy a month. In addition, half of the enrollees should be able to obtain a Silver-level plan for $10 or less a month.
And premiums are down even before those changes are factored in.
“The average premium for a 2022 benchmark ACA [plan] is about 3 percent lower than for 2021, so that’s good news,” said Nathan Teater, a sales manager at eHealth, a website that helps shoppers compare health plans. “When you couple that with the extension of subsidy eligibility to more consumers, a lot of ACA plan enrollees will be paying less from their own pockets toward premiums next year.”
