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Many Texans Say Health Insurance Costs Too Much, Despite Obamacare Subsidies

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A new report from Rice University's Baker Institute and the Episcopal Health Foundation suggests nearly half of Texans eligible for tax credits under Obamacare say health insurance is still too expensive.

Under the Affordable Care Act, tax subsidies for consumers who qualify are meant to make health insurance more affordable, but a new report suggests about half of eligible Texans say it still costs too much.

The quarterly report is from Rice University’s Baker Instituteand the Episcopal Health Foundation. Elena Marks, president of the foundation, says she and her colleagues looked at the lower-to-middle income Texans who don’t have health insurance from a job and earn too much for public programs. That’s about 2 million people in Texas.

"The target population actually knew quite a lot about the marketplace," says Marks, who adds they also knew about the availability of the subsidies. But she calls the findings a doubled edged sword.

"Unfortunately many of them found that the plans were unaffordable, even with the subsidies that were affordable to them," she adds.

Marks says all the dialogue in favor and against the insurance marketplace may have resulted in people with limited information about what health insurance would cost. The next enrollment period starts in November.

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