Obamacare customers receive an average of seven covered health services before hitting an average $850 deductible, the Obama administration said Tuesday as part of an ongoing pitch for why it says the law is working well.
A new analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services concludes that the median deductible for a plan sold on an Obamacare marketplace is less than last year, although that cost factors in federal assistance available to low and mid-income Americans.
Officials also pointed to provisions in the Affordable Care Act requiring insurers to fully cover some services before consumers hit their deductible, such as immunizations and cancer screenings.
“We are finding that consumers have a lot of access to services below their deductible,” said Christen Linke Young, deputy director for consumer information and insurance oversight for CMS, on a call with reporters.
The data presentation is a concerted effort by the administration to combat criticisms that insurers ramped up deductibles to keep premium costs lower. Critics of the Affordable Care Act have argued that even though more Americans are covered, some of the plans come with such high deductibles that care is still too expensive.
But the law also requires insurers to cover some services before the deductible is hit, most commonly including some prescription drugs, primary care or specialist visits and outpatient mental health services. That provision, combined with the federal assistance for deductibles and co-pays about 60 percent of customers are getting, means health insurance is still affordable for most Americans, the administration says.
“This report shows that marketplace plans are providing consumers with real financial protections and access to important health services,” said marketplace CEO Kevin Counihan.
