In a recent opinion editorial published by The Federalist, the author critiques the Democrats' stance on the ongoing government shutdown, arguing that their claims about the potential doubling of premiums if Covid-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies are not extended are misleading.
The author asserts that the federal government will continue to cover 75-80% of enrollees' premiums even if these subsidies expire. Furthermore, nearly half of Exchange enrollees currently pay no out-of-pocket premiums, a situation that has reportedly led to over $10 billion in fraud annually, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The editorial takes a critical look at the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a think tank that has been vocal about the supposed doubling of premiums. The author questions whether KFF's messaging has intentionally contributed to public confusion, exaggerating the need for extending the subsidies.
A September report by KFF claimed that "premium payments will more than double" if the subsidies expire. However, the author argues that this terminology conflates premiums with out-of-pocket costs, ignoring the substantial subsidies that will remain.
In response to the author's inquiry, Cynthia Cox, a KFF Vice President, acknowledged the need for precision in their messaging. She stated, "we do plan to update the graphic to be more precise." Shortly after, the graphic on KFF's website was altered to specify "premium payments" instead of "premiums."
Despite this correction, the author notes that KFF did not publicly acknowledge the change or inform their press lists, suggesting a reluctance to admit errors.
The editorial further criticizes KFF for not providing detailed financial impact analyses by percentile or income cohort, which could reveal that most households would face only modest increases in absolute dollar terms. The author suggests that Republicans in Congress could leverage their subpoena power to obtain this information, arguing that it would demonstrate that the expiration of enhanced subsidies would not be catastrophic for most families.
The piece concludes by urging conservatives in Congress to push for transparency from groups like KFF, highlighting that the expiration of these subsidies would not result in significant financial burdens for the majority of families.
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