NOTEWORTHY MAJORITY OF AMERICANS BELIEVE HEALTH INSURANCE OR MEDICARE WILL PAY FOR LONG-TERM CARE More than half of Americans—55%—mis-takenly believe health insurance or Medi-care will pay for assistance with daily living due to illness or injury for an extended period of time. A recent survey conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of OneAmerica asked adults how they would pay for assistance with daily living due to illness or injury, either in their home or in a care facility, for an extended period of time (i.e., longer than 90 days). More than half (55%) said they’d use Medicare or health insurance, even though, in most cases, neither will pay for long-term assistance with daily activities. In the survey of 2,065 U.S. adults age 18 and older, those ages 55 and older were more likely than those ages 18-54 to say they’d pay for long-term care needs with health insurance and/or Medicare (67% vs. 47%), while those ages 18-54 were more likely than those ages 55+ to say they’d bor-row money for long-term care, either from family/friends or with a credit card or loan (36% vs. 13%). The results show more education is needed about preparing for the possibil-ity of significant long-term care expenses, said Chris Coudret, vice president and chief distribution officer, Care Solutions at OneAmerica. “Most people may realize they will prob-ably need some level of care as they age, whether it’s help in their homes or full-time care in a facility,” Coudret said. “But these results show that most people probably don’t realize how those expenses can affect the plans they’re making for retirement.” For more information, visit www.oneam-erica.com/ltcstudies. SURVEY: $100 A MONTH REMAINS MAX HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM FOR MOST AMERICANS For the third year, HealthPocket conducted a nationwide poll exploring health insur-ance affordability. HealthPocket asked 1,225 adults across the country, “What is the highest monthly premium you could afford to pay for health insurance in 2018?” Slight-ly more than half of all Americans surveyed answered, “$100 a month or less.” $100 or less was also the most common answer when similar surveys were conducted in 2016 and 2015. For each of the surveys from 2015 through 2017, 50% or more of respon-dents indicated that $100 or less was the most they could spend on monthly health insurance premiums. The $100 affordability ceiling for most Americans has maintained while the average market premiums of ACA plans experienced considerable increases in 2016, 2017 and now possibly in 2018. For consumers buying insurance on a government exchange, 83% of enrollees had incomes that qualified for premium subsi-dies. The average 2017 premium on health-care.gov after subsidies were applied was $106. However, prices for the unsubsidized are quite different. For example, below are the average 2017 premiums across the na-tion for a 40-year-old nonsmoker for each of the four standard Obamacare plans: Bronze—$350 Silver—$411 Gold—$522 Platinum—$623 Before subsidies were applied, the aver-age premium for enrollees on healthcare. gov in 2017 was $489. The very different financial obligations between the unsubsidized and the subsi-dized are among the forces that contribute benefitspecialistmagazine.com | ABS 23
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