More than 18.3 million adults aged 50 to 64 are expected to see significant improvement in their health insurance protections as provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are implemented in 2014, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.
According to "Realizing Health Reform's Potential: Adults Ages 50–64 and the Affordable Care Act of 2010," people in this demographic have specific challenges to getting adequate coverage, including higher-than-average rates of long-term unemployment, high prices for individual insurance and high rates of insurance denials due to pre-existing conditions.
"A loss of employer health benefits can be devastating to men and women in this age group since their older age and higher rates of chronic health problems places them at risk of facing exorbitant premiums, having a condition excluded from their coverage or being denied insurance altogether if they try to buy it on their own," said Sara Collins, a Commonwealth Fund vice president and lead author of the report. "The Affordable Care Act will change all of that. Once its provisions are in full effect, older adults who lose their employer health insurance will have access to affordable and comprehensive health benefits regardless of their age or health."
Of the 18.3 million expected to benefit, 8.6 million are living without any form of health insurance, with 3.3 million living with annual incomes under $29,000, making them eligible for Medicaid. The remaining 5.3 million uninsured will receive subsidies on a sliding scale up to annual incomes of $88,000 under health reform.
Uninsured baby boomers face serious difficulty with access to needed care. Seventy-five percent reported forgoing needed healthcare and medications because of costs, and 46 percent reported not getting recommended preventive care. More than half of uninsured women in this age group had not had a mammogram within the past two years. Nearly 70 percent of uninsured and underinsured baby boomers report that they have problems paying medical bills or are paying off medical debt.
The other 9.7 million expected to benefit, the report noted, are those who have insurance yet are enrolled in plans with such high out-of-pocket expenses relative to their income as to be effectively uninsured.
"This report paints a picture of a baby boomer generation whose health and financial security are in jeopardy because of rising healthcare costs and declining health insurance coverage," said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund. "The good news is that the Affordable Care Act is already making a difference for them, as lifetime and annual limits are phased out and pre-existing condition insurance plans get up and running. Things will only continue to improve as states and the federal government move toward fully implementing the law and we enter a new era in American healthcare, in which everyone has access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance."