What possible relevance could this 90 year old person’s opinions have on, well, anything?
The Paragon Health Institute report estimates that the number of people who enrolled in ACA coverage for this year who projected they would earn between 100% of the federal poverty level and 150% — amounts that qualify them for zero-premium plans and smaller deductibles — likely exceeds the number of people with that level of income, particularly in nine states.
It recommends several changes to the ACA, including letting the enhanced subsidies expire, increasing repayment amounts for people who fail to project their incomes correctly, and ending the Biden-backed initiative that allows very low-income people to [enroll in ACA coverage year-round] rather than having to wait for the once-a-year general open enrollment period.
The Paragon report was cited by both Grassley and the House GOP lawmakers in their letters to government overseers. It also notes what they consider a related concern: ongoing problems of unscrupulous, commission-seeking agents enrolling people in ACA coverage or switching their plans without their permission, often into highly subsidized plans.
Some critics, though, question how the Paragon analysis was done.
For instance, Paragon’s findings rely on two unrelated data sets from different years. Combining them makes many people who are eligible for subsidies appear to be ineligible, said Gideon Lukens, a senior fellow and director of research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “The analytic approach is not careful or sophisticated enough to provide accurate or even meaningful results.”