Nearly one-third of people enrolled on the Affordable Care Act exchange still pay $0 in monthly premiums, and the median monthly premium is $42, Magnolia Tribune reported. The outlet said the recent legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” did not end ACA subsidies but allowed temporary COVID-era expansions to lapse.
Magnolia Tribune outlined the law’s origins, saying the ACA created taxpayer-funded tax credits that capped how much enrollees pay as a share of income. The outlet said Congress temporarily expanded those subsidies through the American Rescue Plan Act during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the Biden administration described the changes as “temporary premium reductions,” a characterization Magnolia Tribune attributed to the White House. The report said leaders including Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer indicated the changes would last only for the health emergency.
The outlet said the rollback of enhanced subsidies raised average premiums for some enrollees but that the change disproportionately affected higher-income customers. Magnolia Tribune reported the median enrollee still pays $42 per month, with taxpayers covering more than 94% of that typical premium cost. It said increases in averages were driven largely by people earning 300% of the federal poverty level or more, and by those above 400% who no longer qualify for subsidies.
Magnolia Tribune reported enrollment rose from about 11.4 million before COVID to more than 24 million after the temporary subsidies, and federal spending rose from roughly $55 billion to nearly $120 billion. The outlet said national enrollment has since fallen by about 1 million, while Mississippi’s enrollment grew from about 86,000 to roughly 330,000 and later declined by about 23,000. Magnolia Tribune wrote that participation remains well above pre-COVID levels.
Magnolia Tribune concluded that the enhanced subsidies expanded the ACA beyond its original design and were intended to be temporary, and that the program has largely returned to its prior structure while remaining heavily subsidized for lower-income enrollees. The outlet said most participants continue to pay little or nothing and that the typical enrollee still receives substantial taxpayer support.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
