ObamaCare Is a Money Pit for Taxpayers

A new study shows extending subsidies would be reckless

By Ge Bai and Elizabeth Plummer. Ms. Bai is a professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Plummer is a professor of accounting and medical education at Texas Christian University. Excerpts:

"In 2024 they paid nearly 80% of the premiums for subsidized plans—compared with only 30% in 2014."

"Taxpayers paid more than $114 billion directly to insurers in 2024—one-third more after inflation than in 2023, more than double the amount in 2020 (before the enhanced subsidies), and more than six times as much as in 2014."

"ObamaCare banned affordable insurance options and destroyed independent physician practices, damaging the insurance and provider markets. Consolidation, administrative bloat, high prices and soaring premiums followed."

"the correlation between premium growth and subsidy growth is nearly perfect."

"Subsidies are calculated so that the premiums paid by subsidy-eligible enrollees for benchmark plans fall within a set percentage of their income"

"In 2021 Congress expanded subsidy eligibility to higher-income households and lowered income caps for others"

"In 2024, 90% of subsidy-eligible enrollees had access to plans with net premiums of $10 a month or less."

"23 of 24 fictitious applications were approved for premium subsidies, and 18 were still covered a year later."

"the market size for unsubsidized ObamaCare plans shrank by a quarter, from $23 billion in 2014 to $17 billion in 2024."