Report: Many with canceled plans eligible for help

Almost three-quarters of people with individual health plans that could be canceled are eligible for government assistance with their healthcare, according to a new report.

Families USA, a group that supports the healthcare law, found that almost three-quarters (71 percent) of people on the individual market could receive either premium tax subsidies or Medicaid under ObamaCare.

{mosads}”The premium subsidies will reduce consumers’ annual premium costs by thousands of dollars, and most of those in Medicaid will pay no premiums at all,” the group stated.

ObamaCare’s supporters are seeking to beat back negative news surrounding millions of plan cancellations under the law, which requires health policies to meet certain minimums standards.

The wave of cancellations has created a political firestorm for the White House in connection with President Obama’s promise that if people like their plans, they could keep them under healthcare reform.

The controversy moved Obama to propose a policy fix allowing insurers to continue offering canceled plans for one year to people who previously held them. 

It is unclear how many people this move would help, given that the decision rests with insurance companies and commissioners around the country.

Families USA sought to emphasize that many people losing their plans will be eligible for assistance on ObamaCare’s new health insurance exchanges, or on Medicaid in states that choose to expand the program.

The group also downplayed the number of people with canceled plans who cannot receive government help.

“Although President Obama was right to express his concern about, and to propose corrective action for, the people at risk of losing health coverage due to the Affordable Care Act, it is important to keep a perspective about the small portion of the population that might be adversely affected,” said the group’s executive director, Ron Pollack, in a statement.