Here are five insights:
1. The reason middle class Americans are turning to private insurers is many of them are earning too much money to qualify. Americans in this category are earning wages that are above the 400 percent federal poverty level of $47,080 for an individual, disqualifying them from government subsidies.
2. Other consumers who are not middle class are buying health insurance through the private marketplace instead of government ones like Healthcare.gov because of their more expansive choices and more easily navigable websites.
3. One benefit is that more middle class consumers are purchasing health insurance, which lowers their cost in the case of an emergency or illness since medical bills can run into the thousands quickly. Others are buying coverage instead of paying the tax penalty, which has risen in 2016 to $695 or 2.5 percent of their income, but is capped at a maximum of $2,085, which is what an individual would pay for a bronze plan on average.
4. Although premiums have risen, the Congressional Budget Office said that since the passage of the ACA, the number of uninsured people will be lowered by 22 million in 2016.
5. When open enrollment ended in January, only 12 million people signed up for plans through the federal or state-run exchanges because many people opted to buy them directly from insurance companies or use their employer’s plan.
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