Tax credits drop health insurance premiums for Missouri, Kansas consumers

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday outlined the savings, by state, accrued by by consumers through the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace for insurance policies.

In Missouri, marketplace shoppers who selected silver plans — the most popular plan type– paid an average of $45 per month after tax credits. In Kansas, silver plan holders paid an average of $50 per month.

According to HHS, monthly premiums dropped 83 percent for Missourians who chose plans with tax credits and 77 percent for Kansans, dropping average monthly premiums from $344 to $59 and $290 to $67, respectively.

Under the health reform law, consumers are eligible for tax credits if they earn between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

Since October 2013, according to the department, more than eight million Americans have selected a private health insurance plan through the marketplace.

In the report, the department also argued that competition between issuers has resulted in greater affordability and choice in the marketplace, citing that 96 percent of people who qualified to purchase a plan were able to choose from at least two marketplace insurance providers.

Additionally, HHS said that other ACA components that helped to keep premiums affordable were grants for state rate-review programs and the new requirement that health insurance companies must spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on health care or care improvements.

Major Funding for Health coverage on KCPT provided by Assurant Employee Benefits and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.