Obamacare’s About to Get a Lot Extra Inexpensive. These Maps Present How.

Under the stimulus bill passed by Congress this week and due to be signed by President Biden on Friday, almost everyone who takes out their own insurance is eligible for a discount.

The US rescue plan expands the subsidies available to comprehensive health insurance under the Affordable Care Act – increasing it for those already eligible and providing new support for those with incomes previously too high to qualify. The top cards, taken from calculations by the Kaiser Family Foundation, show how the changes will reduce health insurance costs across the country based on location and age.

The changes mean minor adjustments for some Americans and very substantial ones for others. For anyone making around $ 19,000, the subsidies are now generous enough to sign up for a typical plan with no monthly payment. For someone making more than $ 51,000, new subsidies could cut premiums in the country’s most expensive markets by as much as $ 1,000 a month.

Some groups are still not eligible for help: undocumented immigrants and poor Americans in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid under an option under the Affordable Care Act. A vast majority of uninsured Americans can now get financial help with purchasing insurance, according to Cynthia Cox, vice president at Kaiser.

“This law will shape it so that the majority of uninsured citizens will be entitled to free or low-cost coverage,” she said. “This won’t bring us to universal health coverage, but it will bring us closer to universal eligibility for subsidized health insurance – for two years.”

The cards here roughly show how much Americans who buy such plans will have to pay each month under the new rules. All eligible plans must cover a standard set of comprehensive benefits, including prenatal care, prescription medication, and mental health services – more coverage than available in the short-term plans or departments of health some middle-income Americans are currently enrolled in.

To qualify for the new benefits, individuals must register with Healthcare.gov or a government exchange website for plans. The changes will be retroactive to January 1, which means people who already have Obamacare plans will get their money back. Anyone who is not insured now can qualify for new prizes immediately after registering. However, experts say it may take a while for the subsidy changes to appear on Healthcare.gov. If you sign up right away, you may have to pay the old price for the first month and wait for a refund.

If you have unemployment insurance, the law gives you a special discount: regardless of your income, your premiums will look similar to those of the person who earns $ 19,000 on our cards. And if you’ve lost your cover at work and want to keep it, the invoice will also pay the full cost of your six-month premiums under the federal COBRA program.

Notes: The rewards and subsidies shown here are for individuals who purchase a silver plan at the second lowest price in their market. However, subsidies are calculated differently depending on the size of the family. A family of four earning around $ 40,000 would pay the same premium as an individual earning $ 19,000, for example.

In a few states, people on $ 19,000 are not eligible for new grants because they already qualify for other low-cost government insurance programs – Medicaid in Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia; and the Minnesota and New York Primary Health Plan (the Primary Health Plan is Medicaid-style, low-premium coverage for a portion of low-income Americans in certain states).

If you want to calculate the premium you would pay for your income, household size, and location, this online tool can come in handy.

Here you can find answers to other frequently asked questions about the stimulus package.