More than two years into the pandemic, it’s unsettling to imagine a scenario in which hundreds of thousands of Californians are exposed to evasive coronavirus subvariants without access to health care while others experience further financial strain amid record inflation. Yet Congress’ reluctance to extend COVID subsidies could force an estimated 220,000 people in the state to forgo insurance and burden middle-class residents who have benefited from lower premiums.
Federal American Rescue Plan Act funding helped a record 1.8 million Californians who rely on the state’s subsidized insurance exchange, Covered California, to weather the COVID-induced economic downturn by cutting costs about 20%. Roughly 350,000 people have signed up since 2020, cementing California’s insurance marketplace as the country’s most effective at reducing the uninsured rate over the past nine years, Covered California executive director Jessica Altman said in an interview with The Bee’s Editorial Board.
Covered California announced a preliminary average rate increase of 6% for 2023 on Tuesday, introducing the first wave of sticker shock for senior citizens, college students, laborers, small-business owners and others who receive coverage from the exchange created under the Affordable Care Act. But if Congress allows pandemic subsidies to expire, an even greater hike is expected by October, when renewals begin. Premiums could double for nearly 1 million people who make $32,000 or less, and hundreds of thousands of middle-income earners could either lose out entirely on financial help or experience spikes as high as $305 per month.
