According to a news story from Iowa News Service, tens of thousands of Iowans stand to see sharp increases to health insurance premiums or a loss of coverage if Congress elects not to extend tax incentives under the Affordable Care Act. Lawmakers left Washington for the holidays, but could reach an agreement for early next year. Health insurance costs have outpaced worker earnings by a rate of three to one in the last 25 years, according to research by the Journal of the American Medical Association, with hospital-related costs rising the most. Mary Nelle Trefz with the advocacy group Iowa ACEs 360 says people are already struggling with daily living costs, and higher premiums would put insurance out of reach for many.
“When we look at groceries, and gas, and housing costs. And I don’t know too many Iowans who have an extra $500 dollars or $1,000 dollars a month to keep their coverage, and those are the kinds of increases Iowans could be facing.”
Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn has called for a three-year extension on premium subsidies, but with income limits to qualify. Democrats in the U.S. house have said they could pass a bipartisan bill in Congress after the first of the year, and force an up-or-down vote by the Senate.
Trefz says if there is no deal to extend premium subsidies, Iowans who don’t have coverage through their employers or make too much to qualify for Medicaid could be forced to scale down coverage.
“Or they buy, we call them “skimpy plans,” health insurance plans where not much is actually covered. They are more catastrophic plans. So when that happens, when we see more people become uninsured or underinsured, that affects our health care system and our community at large.”
Trefz adds people will be more likely to show up at hospital emergency rooms, especially in rural areas, which were hit by record Medicaid cuts earlier this year.
