Infographic maps potential impact of King v. Burwell ruling on 34 states
The Supreme Court’s ruling on King v. Burwell, a case questioning the constitutionality of federal subsidies found within the Affordable Care Act, is expected by the end of June. An interactive map from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows how a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could affect the 34 states in which exchanges are run by the federal government.
With the map, users can hover their cursor over each state and use a drop-down menu to toggle between five different types of information. Users can learn each state’s marketplace type, the number of people who would lose their subsidies, the total number of subsidy dollars that would be lost, the average subsidy per enrollee, and the average increase in premiums each subsidized enrollee would face. The map also shows each statistic at the federal level.
Some interesting takeaways from the analysis include:
· Florida (1,324,516) and Texas (832,334) are home to the highest number of people who would lose their subsidies if the courts rule in favor of the plaintiffs. North Dakota has the lowest number: 14,115.
· Florida (over $389 million) and Texas (over $205 million) also presently have the most subsidy dollars per month.
· Mississippi would see a 650% increase in premiums, the largest number of any state.
· The state with the highest average federal subsidy per enrollee is Alaska, with $536. That is $111 more than No. 2 on the list, Wyoming.
The foundation points out that it did not take some potential premium increases into account in its analysis, so the final costs would likely be higher than what is shown.
“Estimates do not reflect the substantial premium increases that would likely result in 2016 and beyond if subsidies are eliminated, triggering healthy enrollees to drop coverage and a deterioration in the insurance risk pool,” the staff wrote.
Earlier this year, RadiologyBusiness.com also examined the impact of a possible King v. Burwell ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.