People may have health insurance, but affordability is a problem

Of those surveyed, about 90 percent had employer coverage.

Under the Affordable Care Act, those who do not have health insurance could face a fine of $695 or 2.5 percent of their income.

For the index, researchers considered premiums “unaffordable” if they cost more than 10 percent of an individual or family’s annual income, or more than 7 percent for low-income people ($23,340 for an individual and $47,700 for a family of four). Preferred-provider organization (PPO) plans remained the most popular, covering 51 percent of employees. The Plan Explorer – offered through a partnership with Clear Health Analytics and HealthSherpa – was created after Enroll America research found that almost half of the uninsured lack confidence in choosing a health insurance plan.

Still, Jewell said the survey showed that Arizona employers understand health plans are an important tool to attract employees.

“More Americans than ever have health insurance, but these findings show that too many people with all types of coverage aren’t getting care because of high costs”, Commonwealth Fund president Dr. David Blumenthal said.

People with exposure to high health care costs relative to their incomes were the most likely to skip needed health care and not fill prescriptions, the study says. Unlike many other plan-comparison tools, the Plan Explorer uses data drawn from cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to offer each consumer a personalized cost estimate based on their unique characteristics and health care needs.

High deductibles were a primary reason people struggled with healthcare expenses, with 43 percent of those surveyed saying their deductible is hard or impossible to afford. Two of five adults didn’t know that a few preventive-care services are fully covered even for those who have not yet paid their full deductible.

The complex nature of health insurance coverage leaves many consumers with a lot of questions. The survey also suggested that consumers did not completely understand their benefits. High deductible plans have lower premiums, but many consumers are beginning to avoid seeking medical care because they can not financially handle deductibles.

“This problem of affordability did not start with the Affordable Care Act”, Blumenthal said.