Obamacare’s tax credits have been upheld, but if younger and higher-income people don’t start enrolling in the health exchanges it may not matter, experts say.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Thursday that the federal government can dole out subsidies to states that did not set up their own healthcare exchanges. While the King v. Burwell decision keeps a major part of Obamacare in place, it also doesn’t mean the law is without any challenges.
Besides political efforts to repeal the law, which are sure to continue, efforts now turn to who enrolls in the exchanges, according to the research firm Avalere.
“Exchanges need to focus on increasing enrollment and attracting younger, healthier individuals in order to ensure a variety of affordable health plan options participate in the market,” according to Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at Avalere.
Nearly 12 million people enrolled in the marketplaces in 2015, and more than 4.1 million consumers under 35 signed up for coverage.
Getting younger people to enroll isn’t the only issue.
About 85 percent of Obamacare enrollees receive some form of subsidy. While those subsidies will now be protected, it means a majority of enrollees in Obamacare are lower income.
That could be a problem as the law needs to expand its enrollment to remain viable. But higher-income residents have not pursued getting coverage through the exchanges.
Avalere found that 40 percent of people who enrolled in healthcare.gov earn up to nearly $18,000 a year and another 25 percent earn nearly $30,000.
On the other hand, only 8 percent of people who earn up to $44,000 a year signed up through healthcare.gov, which covers 37 states, and only 2 percent earned $60,000 or more.
Obamacare enrollment is supposed to grow every year to help make the markets viable. In 2016, 21 million people are supposed to get health insurance coverage, about 10 million more than current enrollment figures.
So, while the White House can celebrate on Thursday, challenges for the law will remain in the coming years.
