The White House on Wednesday downplayed its finding that Obamacare premiums will rise as much as 25 percent for plans bought on the federal insurance exchange, by saying most people will still pay less money than they would for a private health insurance plan.
Presidential press secretary Josh Earnest also told reporters that most people who use the insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act receive tax credits that help bring down the costs.
“So when it comes to the marketplace itself, the vast number of people benefit from tax credits that make [the insurance] more affordable,” Earnest said.
The premium increase “won’t have an impact for the majority” of Obamacare enrollees because “they will get tax credits that offset that increase in costs,” he said.
Earnest did note that “some middle-class families” that purchase Obamacare on the marketplace aren’t getting the tax subsidies benefit.
“The president believes that’s a problem that needs to be addressed,” he said, calling that segment of enrollees a “small number of Americans.”
Earnest also blamed the average premium spike on states led by mostly GOP governors that didn’t expand Medicaid.
“If every state expanded Medicaid, that could lower premiums for everybody … let’s do right by all of our citizens and expand Medicaid,” he said.
President Obama wants to offer a special tax credit for young adults as an incentive to have them sign up for Obamacare on the exchange. The marketplace, in many states, has failed to attract enough healthy young enrollees to offset the much higher insurance costs for older and sicker individuals.
The Health and Human Services Department on Monday issued a report analyzing the premiums consumers will pay in 2017 for Obamacare marketplace insurance coverage. The report showed a sharp increase for premiums in 2017 for states on the federal exchange.
