COVID bill to deliver big health insurance savings for many

Several million people stand to save hundreds of dollars in health-insurance costs, or more, under the Democratic coronavirus relief legislation that is on track to pass Congress, perhaps today.

Winners include those covered by “Obamacare” or just now signing up, self-employed people who buy their own insurance and don’t currently get federal help, laid-off workers struggling to retain employer coverage, and most anyone collecting unemployment. Also, potentially many more could benefit if about a dozen states accept a Medicaid deal in the legislation.

Taken together, the components of the coronavirus bill represent the biggest expansion of federal help for health insurance since the Obama-era Affordable Care Act more than 10 years ago. “Obamacare” not only survived former President Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to tear it down but will now get a shot of new life.

Consider a couple of examples: A hypothetical 45-year-old making $58,000 now gets no aid under the ACA. With the bill, they would be entitled to a $1,250 tax credit, or 20% off their premiums, according to the Congressional Budget Office. A 64-year-old making $19,300 already gets generous subsidies that reduce premiums to $800 a year. But with the bill, that person would pay no premiums for a standard plan.

Because health insurance is so complicated, consumers are going to have to do their homework to figure out if there’s something in the bill for them. And healthcare benefits are not like stimulus checks that can be blasted out. There will be a lag as government agencies, insurers and employers unpack the bill’s provisions.

There’s also a political twist. Since most of the healthcare aid is keyed to the pandemic and expires by the end of 2022, that will let Democrats set up election-year votes to make new benefits permanent, or build them out even more.

“There was always a hope that we were going to be able to return and build on where we started in 2009-2010, and we finally got to a place where it was possible,” said Judy Solomon of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Her organization advocates on behalf of low-income people and was an early supporter of the healthcare law.

The COVID-19 bill follows President Joe Biden’s strategy of building on the health law to move the U.S. toward coverage for all. It’s still unclear how big a dent the legislation will make in the number of uninsured people, which has risen to an estimated 33 million or more.

A major healthcare item in the bill will depend on some Republican-led states going along. States mainly in the South have refused to expand Medicaid to low-income adults under the ACA. The legislation offers them a temporary infusion of billions of dollars to reconsider. If those states, including Florida, Texas and Georgia, were to do that, Biden would be closer to his coverage goal.