A startling Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows 37 percent of people who remain uninsured
— and yet are likely eligible for Obamacare
— were told they didn't qualify for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
The poll of 10,502 non-elderly adults between Sept. 2 and Dec. 15 didn't follow up with a question about how those uninsured people were told they were ineligible,
Talking Points Memo notes.
TPM estimates the finding would translate into more than 5 million people steered away from coverage.
"It jumped out at us, too," Larry Levitt, vice president at Kaiser, told TPM in an email.
A Kaiser summary noted, "While it is possible that they were ineligible at the time they applied, it is likely that these people received incorrect information or misinterpreted information they were given."
"For people who may be eligible but were told they were not, more accurate or easily understood information about the availability of coverage is particularly important. In addition, some who were told they were ineligible encountered difficulty with the application process or paperwork," the summary noted.
According to the Kaiser survey, about 48 percent of about 30 million people who remain uninsured were likely eligible for either Medicaid or private insurance subsidies under Obamacare.
It found 17 percent were ineligible because they made too much money to qualify for tax subsidies or had access to employer-sponsored coverage; 14 percent were disqualified because of their immigration status; and 18 percent fell into the law's coverage gap because their state didn't expand Medicaid.
Yet, for those eligible, 30 percent said it was too expensive; another 33 percent offered some other reason for backing off, including their personal opposition to the law or that they didn't finish the application process; and 37 percent said they were told they didn't qualify.
"People may have been confused about what they were being told," Levitt told TPM. "Or, they may have been told they were ineligible for marketplace coverage but eligible for Medicaid, or vice versa, and were confused by that or didn’t follow up."
Caroline Pearson, vice president of consulting firm Avalere Health, suggested some of the problem could be HealthCare.gov and other insurance exchanges themselves.
"I think some of the messages for people who appeared to be Medicaid eligible were particularly muddled" in the early days of 2014 enrollment, Pearson told TPM.
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