Is ACA Coverage Affordable for Low-Income People? Perspectives from Individuals in Six Cities [View all]

[eridani]

http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/is-aca-coverage-affordable-for-low-income-people-perspectives-from-individuals-in-six-cities/

Issue Brief:
http://kff.org/report-section/is-aca-coverage-affordable-for-low-income-people-perspectives-from-individuals-in-six-cities-issue-brief-8867/

While people were grateful for coverage, unexpected bills, dealing with insurance companies, and facing known deductibles were sources of stress which made those with Marketplace coverage fearful to use the coverage they had. They were particularly frustrated by the out-of-pocket costs, which were unaffordable to many and wanted insurance that didn’t come with so many hidden costs.

Comment by Don McCanne of PNHP: This report of nine focus groups confirms that real people have found that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) often fails to provide access to affordable care.

Although the leading candidate for president has said that she wants to build on ACA, reducing premiums and deductibles pours yet more tax money into what is the most expensive and least efficient model of health care financing. The model cannot really be fixed if we want true value in health care. It needs to be replaced with a model that does work - a single payer national health program - Improved Medicare for All.