The Bottom Line on Health Reform: More Cash on Hand for Wisconsin Families

The Affordable Care Act Will Benefit Both Health Coverage and Personal Finances

Spotlight on Affordable Care Act Benefit Comes against Backdrop of Continued GOP Presidential Hopefuls’ Push for Law’s Repeal

Washington, D.C.—When fully implemented, the Affordable Care Act will do much more for Wisconsin’s families than put the brakes on 20 years of insurance premium hikes. It will actually put money in their pockets—an average in 2019 of $2,040 for Wisconsin households earning less than $100,000 a year.

That financial gain for Wisconsin families is one of the findings of a report titled “The Bottom Line: How the Affordable Care Act Helps Wisconsin Families” released today by the health consumer group Families USA. The report details a range of health reform benefits that includes protection against high deductibles and copayments, elimination of lifetime and annual limits on covered benefits, and improvements to the health care delivery system itself.

The “bottom line,” however, remains the key health pocketbook concern, and, according to the report, the health care law will be helpful. Wisconsin families will see reduced costs for health coverage and care, and that means more money for other family priorities.

The report looks first at who in Wisconsin benefits and then at how they benefit. Families USA finds that in 2019, because of the Affordable Care Act:

• On average, Wisconsin households earning less than $100,000 will be about $2,040 better off.
• Households with income under $30,000 will be $3,405 better off.
• Households with income between $30,000 and $50,000 will be $1,493 better off.
• Households with income between $50,000 and $100,000 will be $996 better off.

“As this report makes clear, the Affordable Care Act will put extra cash in the pocketbooks of Wisconsin families—those who now have health coverage and those who are currently uninsured,” Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said today. “While both groups benefit, however, they benefit in different ways.

“Families who have coverage currently face rising premiums and increasing out-of-pocket payments for deductibles, copayments, and uncovered care,” Pollack said. “The financial benefits of health reform will come to these families in the form of lower premiums and reductions in out-of-pocket spending when they seek care.”

The report finds that, for families who had coverage before reform:

• Households with income under $30,000 will pay $1,135 less in premiums.
• Households with income between $30,000 and $50,000 will pay $917 less in premiums.
• Households with income between $50,000 and $100,000 will pay $612 less in premiums.

“Families now without coverage will benefit from health premium tax credits and from access to new state marketplaces where they can shop for individual and family policies at competitive rates,” Pollack said. “And lower-income families will benefit from the fact that Medicaid eligibility is being extended to include families with annual incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.”

The report notes that, for families who were uninsured before reform:

• Households with income under $30,000 will receive an average of $5,073 in help with the cost of health coverage.
• Households with income between $30,000 and $50,000 will receive an average of $2,872 in help with the cost of health coverage.
• Households with income between $50,000 and $100,000 will receive an average of $2,230 in help with the cost of health coverage.

In addition to getting financial assistance with the upfront costs of obtaining health coverage, Wisconsin families will also benefit from lower out-of-pocket costs associated with their claims for health coverage, spending, on average, $173 less out of pocket under the Affordable Care Act in 2019 than they would have without reform.

In the final analysis, Pollack said, the law will benefit all health care consumers.

“It’s a sad commentary on political discourse that irresponsible politicians continue to use the Affordable Care Act as a political target, instead of actually explaining to their families and business constituents what’s in the law, when its provisions take effect, and how they can take advantage of its many benefits.

“Numerous provisions of the Affordable Care Act have already been put into place that help children, young adults, families, and seniors, and the law also includes a broad range of initiatives to help contain costs, improve quality, and promote prevention,” he said.

“The bottom line on health reform for Wisconsin, however, is better care, accessible care, and affordable care for families, and more money in their wallets,” Pollack said. “This is the goal of reform, and this is where we are headed.”

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Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 1100 · Washington, DC 20005
202-628-3030 · Email: info@familiesusa.org · www.familiesusa.org