13 million Americans with Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual and family health insurance plans will likely be paying much more of the cost of coverage in 2023. With inflation at an all-time high, the timing could not be worse.
In 2021 president Biden’s “America Rescue Plan” included increased ACA/Obamacare subsidies to help pay the staggering monthly health insurance premiums many face. The increased subsidies are set to expire in December of 2022.
Unless the Biden administration can extend the program, 13 million American families will see their portion of 2023 monthly premiums increase several hundred dollars per month in most cases. Government officials have said there is little chance the increased subsidies will be extended into 2023 due to the punishing stretch of inflation in place.
For those in Arizona facing much higher monthly ACA health insurance premiums in 2023, Arizona law allows for “Short Term” health insurance policies to be sold with 3 year limits. Most states only allow a few months of coverage on short term plans. Short term health insurance policies are half the cost of ACA plans, offer excellent coverage, but do have limitations. The main limitation is that they typically do not cover any pre-existing conditions present within the last 5 years. Also, they do not cover maternity. Most plans do not cover preventive care, though some carriers are now offering such coverage. For the average person in reasonably good health, an Arizona short term health insurance plan is an option certainly worth considering.