Cost a main reason for Americans remaining uninsured

As of April 1, more than  7 million people have enrolled in private health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Yet, the percentage of Americans without health insurance was 15.9% as of Feb. 28, according to latest research available from Gallup.

The Market Strategies International study of 2,741 adults conducted Feb. 20-March 13, found that seven-in-10 of those surveyed did not intend to enroll in coverage prior to Obamacare’s March 31st deadline. Kaiser Family Foundation estimated the number of uninsured as 47 million in 2012.

“What we found is that those individuals who were the primary reason behind the ACA and its subsidies — the low-income, uninsured — seem to have made the assumption that health insurance remains unaffordable to them, often without exploring whether a subsidy would help them afford it, and they are acting accordingly,” says Susan McIntyre, managing director of health care at Market Strategies International.

Among those not planning to enroll, 176 respondents were further interviewed to understand why. Of those, 81% listed the cost of coverage as one of the reasons for their decision and 62% listed it as the primary reason.

Others (55%) said disagreement with the ACA’s individual mandate requiring purchase of a qualifying plan was the reason they would not purchase coverage.

For those who listed price as a factor, 85% of them were eligible under the law for a subsidized plan and just one-third (32%) had actually visited a federal or state exchange website, while 29% had done no research whatsoever.