Apr 27, 2021
The number of uninsured in the United States would fall by 4.2 million if policymakers made a temporary provision in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) permanent, according to a new analysis by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The ARPA allows people with incomes over 400 percent of poverty to be eligible for subsidies to purchase insurance coverage from the ACA marketplace. The law increases financial assistance for people at lower incomes who were eligible under the ACA. Both provisions last for two years, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021.
Urban Institute researchers, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, predict the enhanced subsidies would attract a majority of previously uninsured individuals to the marketplace. They estimate that subsidized enrollment would increase by 5.1 million. Additionally, roughly 317,000 people with non-ACA-compliant coverage would switch to a more comprehensive ACA-compliant plan if they became eligible. These estimates translate to a 60% increase in marketplace enrollment in 2022 if the ARPA became permanent.
