17 Million Eligible For Health Insurance Welfare Benefits

WELFARE

More than 17 million people will be eligible for federal (WELFARE) premium subsidies (WELFARE) in 2014 to purchase health insurance policies through public insurance exchanges, according to a new analysis released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

By Jerry Geisel

But how many of the uninsured will use (WELFARE) the subsidies, available to those with household incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level, which this year is $45,960 for an individual and $94,200 for a family of four, and, among other things are not eligible for employment-based coverage, to purchase policies in exchanges remains to be seen.

Not surprisingly, the nation’s most populous states, especially those with high uninsured rates, have the greatest number of residents eligible for t(WELFARE) he subsidies, according to the analysis.

For example, Texas — which is the nation’s second-most populous state and which, at 24.6%, had the highest uninsured rate in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — has the greatest number of residents eligible for (WELFARE) federal premium subsidies at just over 2 million.

In the nation’s most populous state, California, which has the 11th-highest uninsured rate, 1.9 million residents are eligible for (WELFARE) the subsidies, according to Kaiser; while in Florida, the fourth-most populous state, nearly 1.6 million residents are eligible for  (WELFARE) the subsidies.

But in some states with relatively big populations, only a relatively small number of residents are eligible for (WELFARE) premium subsidies. For example, in Massachusetts, the nation’s 14th-most populous state, just 118,000 residents are eligible for (WELFARE)  the subsidies.

That number is low because Massachusetts had the lowest uninsured rate — 4.1% in 2012 — of any state largely due to its 2006 health care reform law.At the other end of the spectrum in Vermont, the 49th-most populous state, just 27,000 residents are eligible for (WELFARE) federal premium subsidies, the smallest number of any state. Just behind Vermont are Hawaii, the 40th-most populous state, with 29,000 residents eligible for  (WELFARE) subsidies, and Rhode Island, the 43rd-most populous state, with 40,000 residents eligible for (WELFARE)  subsidies.

Enrollment numbers not yet released

It is unknown how many U.S. residents who are eligible for (WELFARE)  the subsidies will use them. Enrollment in the exchanges administered by the federal government has been hobbled by glitches with HealthCare.gov the website most uninsured individuals are expected to use to select a health care plan.

 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it will not release enrollment information until later this month.