A recent report has been released that disclosed information relating to the average cost for healthcare paid by the federal government as well as an individual who qualified for a subsidy.To qualify for a government subsidy, total income must be up to 400% of the poverty line ($45,960 for an individual and $94,200 for a family of four).
87% of people who signed up for healthcare under the federal exchange qualified for subsidies meaning that 5.4 million people across 36 states were eligible to receive federal funding towards their health care costs. The total number of residents in DC who qualified for a federal subsidy is still unknown. However, these statistics reveal that more than 3/4 of the people who applied for health care subsidies were eligible and qualified.
The average premium cost for an individual after qualifying for a subsidy was estimated to be $82. The federal government’s average cost toward that premium is $264. This means that the total cost of health care premiums for an individual on average is $346. This means people are still paying hundreds of dollars for monthly premiums despite previous beliefs that access to healthcare would become more affordable. The individuals who did not qualify for subsidies and even some who did are looking at high cost health care premiums with and without federal aid. Moreover, the report showed that premium costs can vary widely by state ranging from $536 in Wyoming to $243 in Utah.
While Health and Human Services officials do not know the exact cost of health care subsidies for 2014, they are estimated to be around $12 billion. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the cost of subsidies will only continue to rise each year. 2015 subsidy costs are predicted to be $23 billion and 2024 costs are projected to reach $95 billion.