“As the Affordable Care Act’s third open enrollment period comes to a close at the end of this month, most of the uninsured are disengaged from the ongoing enrollment process,” a new Kaiser study of Americans aged 18-64 shows.
And, despite Obamacare’s penalties and PR, roughly a third have no intention of getting coverage, the study conducted Jan. 13-19, 2016 shows:
“Do you plan to get health insurance in the next few months, or do you think you will remain uninsured?” (ages 18-64):
- 31% Will Remain Uninsured
- 65% Will Get Health Insurance
- 4% Don’t Know/Refused to answer
And, these aren’t just people who recently left their jobs. Nearly half (46%) of the uninsured say they have been without coverage for two years or more.
The uninsured are also uninformed:
- Only 15% know the enrollment deadline,
- 16% THINK they do, but don’t
- 12% think it has already passed (Jan. 13-19, 2016 survey)
Additionally, only 1% know that the 2016 fine amount is $695 per person or 2.5% of household income.
Half (47%) of the uninsured do not even think they will have to pay a fine for not having health insurance in 2015, while the other half (47%) believe they will. “Some uninsured may in fact be exempt from the fine because of hardship exemptions available under the law,” Kaiser notes.
What’s more, they’re not particularly interested in finding out how to get coverage:
- 57% have not even tried to get more information on their own,
- More than 7 in 10 saying they have not tried to figure out if they qualify for Medicaid (72 percent) or for financial assistance to purchase health insurance (79 percent) in the past 6 months
And, if they’re waiting for the government to come and save them, they’re largely out of luck, since 67% say no one has contacted them to get them to sign up for coverage. 