Health insurance expenses bring stress to uninsured American adults

A new report shows uninsured people are hesitant to purchase a policy due to anticipated rising costs.

Approximately 71 percent of uninsured American adults who were aware of the open enrollment period chose not to purchase a plan due to expected increasing health insurance expenses. They risk failure to comply with the Affordable Care Act to sidestep rising costs.

This represents a potential shift in the level of confidence that the ACA will stay in effect.

The research was conducted by the Commonwealth Fund. The results were published in a recent report. The Commonwealth Fund found that 14 percent of American adults were uninsured following the 2018 open enrollment period. This represented the same uninsured rate the organization recorded from March to June 2017.

That said, 41 percent of those without insurance claimed to have known about the open enrollment period. They said they opted out of buying a health plan on purpose. Many chose not to enroll because of potential upcoming health insurance expenses.

An expected rise in health insurance expenses was the main reason given for failing to enroll.

That said, a number of people also stated that they had held back from buying a health plan due to political confusion. They felt uncertain as to where things were headed and whether the ACA would survive it in anything close to its current form.

“Last year’s debate over the ACA likely affected some uninsured adults’ decisions not to shop for marketplace coverage: 23 percent said they thought the law was going to be repealed, and 16 percent said they thought the government no longer required them to have health insurance,” said the Commonwealth Fund.

They also pointed out that 32 percent of Medicaid and insurance exchange enrollees said they felt the Trump Administration would not carry out the ACA. Another 15 percent felt Congress would soon repeal the health care reform.

The survey’s outcome showed many people without insurance chose not to enroll in an ACA health plan due to concerns about eligibility. Perceived value of the coverage and health insurance expenses were prime barriers to their willingness to enroll, said the research.