More than 12 percent of U.S. residents under 65 were uninsured in March 2015, according to a new Urban Institute report. But, 12 million of them likely do not realize that they are eligible for free or low-cost health care.
As many as 9.1 million of the 33 million uninsured under 65 in America are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. They could be insured at little or no cost to them. The issue is how to reach them.
Another 6 million more people who are uninsured have low incomes that qualify them for help with their premiums in plans offered through the Affordable Care Act’s state health insurance exchanges. And, 3.2 million of these people have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, making them eligible for substantial financial assistance with premiums, copays and deductibles.
Another 3.8 million uninsured people would be eligible for Medicaid if they lived in one of the 32 states that have expanded Medicaid. Instead, because their states have opted not to expand Medicaid, they are ineligible for any financial help with their health insurance.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Four things to know if your income is low and you have Medicare
- Five programs that lower your costs if you have Medicare
And, here’s a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation on uninsured adults in states that do not expand Medicaid.
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