Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of individuals who purchase insurance through the ACA's marketplace think $200 premiums would be an unfair price to pay each month, according to a recent eHealth survey.
For the report, eHealth surveyed 1,700-plus users of its online individual health plan marketplace eHealth.com. The national average monthly premium for unsubsidized health plans purchased through eHealth during the ACA's most recent open enrollment period totaled $440. According to the survey, 3 percent of respondents thought this was a fair price, while 38 percent of respondents said they wouldn't consider a premium totaling more than $100 per month a fair price.
Here are three additional findings from the survey.
1. More than half (58 percent) of respondents said they considered monthly premium first when choosing a health plan. Twenty-five percent said they considered the affordability of copayments and deductibles; 13 percent said access to a preferred physician or facility was a top priority; and only 4 percent said prescription drug coverage was the most important consideration when selecting a health plan.
2. Concern for premium costs again dominated respondents' answers to their biggest worry about health insurance. Sixty-three percent said affordable premiums were their biggest worry; 16 percent said affordability of deductibles and copayments; and 10 percent said the threat of losing coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.
3. Almost 20 percent of respondents said if their health insurance premiums rose $25 per month, they would no longer be able to afford coverage. If premiums rose $50 a month, 39 percent would consider their plan unaffordable. Half of respondents said if their premium grew $75 a month, they couldn't afford their plan.