Health Reform Subsidy Calculator -- Premium Assistance for Coverage in Exchanges/Gateways

The Kaiser Family Foundation has created an interactive calculator which helps to illustrate what people might be responsible for paying in premiums and how much financial help they might receive from the government receiving coverage through an exchange or gateway under the health reform plans now under consideration by the key Congressional committees. Building on the Foundation’s ongoing work examining issues in health reform, the online calculator approximates premiums and subsidies for those who purchase coverage on their own through an exchange or gateway because they don’t get health insurance through their employers, Medicare or Medicaid. The tool starts with specific provisions regarding the premiums and subsidies provided for people who purchase insurance through an exchange or gateway included in legislation from key Congressional committees: the plans approved by the House Ways and Means and House Education and Labor Committees; somewhat different approach approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee; the plan approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and the modified Chairman’s Mark proposal taken up this week by the Senate Finance Committee. The calculator also provides users with the ability to create their own subsidy schedule by changing assumptions to show the effect of different policy choices, such as the extent to which premiums are permitted to vary by age, the income eligibility levels for premium subsidies, and what percentage of income people are required to pay. The calculator is the latest resource available on the Foundation’s health reform gateway page which also features interactive online tool allowing users to compare major health reform bills, an issue brief explaining the role of government subsidies in health reform and a column from Kaiser Foundation president Drew Altman on how subsidy levels could affect the debate.

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