One-third of uninsured Americans plan to remain uninsured

Despite the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most Americans obtain insurance or pay a fine, one-third of the uninsured plan to remain without insurance, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com.

Of those who plan to remain uninsured, 41% choose to do so because they think health insurance is too costly. However, 70% of the uninsured did not know about the subsidies Obamacare provides based on income.

“The government has spent over half a billion dollars promoting the Affordable Care Act and more than two-thirds of uninsured Americans still don’t know about the subsidies,” noted Bankrate.com analyst Doug Whiteman. 

The phone survey of 3,005 adults living in the continental United States, which was conducted February 20 through March 9, also found that 53% of those surveyed were unaware of the fast-approaching sign-up deadline of March 31.

The Obama administration has a goal of signing up 6 million people. As of Monday evening, they had signed up 5 million. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service has consistently spoken about an expected last-minute enrollment bump as the deadline approaches.

For the young, ages 18-29, often called critical to the success of the law for a balanced risk pool, 60% of those who are currently uninsured say they will sign up for insurance this year and 28% plan to remain uninsured, the survey did not account for the other 12%. Of those who plan to remain uninsured, 31% said they will do because they are healthy and do not need coverage, according to the survey.

For those who remain uninsured, they must pay the higher of 1% of their annual income or $95. The Congressional Budget Office has previously estimated that 6 million people will pay the penalty in 2016.

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Healthcare reform
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