The uninsured may not see a need to use insurance exchanges
One of the primary goals of the Affordable Care Act in the U.S., widely known as Obamacare, is to make health insurance coverage more accessible to those that did not have insurance coverage in the past. A new study from McKinsey shows, however, that the vast majority of those that have received coverage through the federal law’s provisions already had insurance. Notably, the survey suggests that many of the people that have enrolled for coverage through their state’s insurance exchange have not yet paid for insurance policies, which could mean that they are still stuck in the somewhat inefficient enrollment process.
Majority of those receiving coverage through exchanges already had active insurance policies
The survey from McKinsey has found that some 74% of people that have enrolled for coverage through exchanges already had insurance coverage before actually enrolling. Many media outlets have failed to make any significant differentiation between those that have enrolled for coverage through exchanges and those that have paid for the coverage they have received through these exchanges. Currently, the amount of people that have paid for the coverage they have received is quite small, though insurers have begun to report that payments for policies sold through state exchanges are beginning to come in.
The survey also shows that 83% of those that did not have any form of insurance coverage before enrolling in state exchanges have paid their first premiums. While these people are still regarded as a minority when t he total number of people enrolling for coverage nationwide is considered, this figure may be a promising sign of the progress that the Affordable Care Act is making. The federal law has sought to make insurance coverage more affordable for those that have, traditionally, been unable to justify the expense of insurance protection. While these people may be in the minority of total enrollments, the survey does show that the federal law is managing to reach this demographic.
The uninsured seem to have little interest in exchanges
The Affordable Care Act is still surrounded by controversy. The health care reform law created insurance exchanges throughout the country, but these exchanges are having a modest impact on the uninsured population. While many people have managed to obtain insurance coverage through the law’s provisions, many more are still uninsured and unwilling to acquire protection because of its costly nature.
