The state of California is ready with $304 million to help lower- and middle-income consumers pay for health insurance if federal subsidies end. But the fund will cover only a fraction of what would be lost.
“We’re fortunate the state has the program, but it’s not enough,” said Laurel Lucia, director of the health care program at the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center.
Federal subsidies in last year’s American Rescue Plan have provided about $1.7 billion in health insurance premium aid for an estimated 1.7 million Californians dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The state aid would be about 18% of what Washington now provides.
