More than 2 million low-income people — half of them in Florida and Texas — are uninsured because they are stuck in a coverage gap: They earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but because of a quirk of the Affordable Care Act, they earn too little to qualify for a subsidized ACA marketplace plan.
The problem affects people in 11 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid.
Some of these consumers, however, likely could get financial help to purchase a marketplace health plan. All they have to do is estimate in good faith that in 2023 they will earn at least as much as the federal poverty level, or $13,590 for an individual. That is the minimum income required to qualify for subsidies that help pay the premiums for marketplace plans.
