Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 9th Congressional District of Illinois

Committee on Energy and Commerce

Democratic Staff Report

This year, the landmark new health insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) started operation, and for the first time tens of millions of Americans became eligible to sign up for quality, affordable coverage through private plans or Medicaid. With the law now fully in effect, Americans can never again be discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition, women can never be charged more for coverage because of their gender, and Americans will never be sold health insurance policies that disappear when they need coverage most.

To date, more than 8 million Americans have signed up for private coverage through the marketplaces, 6.7 million more Americans have enrolled in Medicaid, more than 3 million young adults gained coverage through their parents' plans, and hundreds of millions of Americans with employer based coverage and Medicare have improved benefits. The number of Americans without health insurance has declined by
25% since 2013.

Since the law was enacted, health care spending increases have slowed significantly, over 9.6 million private sector jobs have been created, and the federal deficit has declined by more than $1 trillion.

This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. Jan Schakowsky's district. As a result of the law:

• There are 20,000 district residents who were previously uninsured but now have quality, affordable health coverage because of the Affordable Care Act.(1) Overall, the number of uninsured district residents has declined by 45%.
• Approximately 13,300 individuals purchased quality, affordable coverage through the new health insurance marketplace, 19,900 enrolled in Medicaid, and 6,600 young adults were able to retain coverage through their parents' plans. For more than 76% of the individuals enrolled in the health insurance marketplace, financial assistance was available that could reduce the cost of the average plan to $114 per month.
• 283,000 individuals in the district – including 51,000 children and 120,000 women – now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible.
• 8,700 seniors in the district received Medicare Part D prescription drug discounts worth $13.8 million.
• 102,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible.
• 251,000 individuals in the district are protected by ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 17,300 individuals in the district received approximately $4.4 million in insurance company rebates.
• Up to 36,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers.
• 251,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place annual or lifetime limits on their coverage.

(1) Assumes 60% of Marketplace and Medicaid enrollees were previously uninsured based on Kaiser Family Foundation and Commonwealth Fund Survey data.