By Jalisa Clark, Justin Giovannelli, and Christine Monahan
Since taking office, the second Trump administration has pursued multiple tactics to limit access to affordable health care coverage. From misleading claims about widespread fraud and duplicate enrollments, to decreasing funding towards assisters to help enroll consumers in insurance, and the complete barring of access to federal funds for numerous immigrant groups, the number of uninsured Americans is expected to rise.
One of the most consequential measures is the new administrative barriers implemented through H.R.1 and the Marketplace Integrity and Affordability rule. These provisions impose additional hurdles on individuals seeking to enroll in or maintain marketplace coverage.
Research continually shows that increased paperwork requirements discourage participation in public programs. Making the enrollment process more time-consuming, adding unnecessary steps, and requiring extra documentation all reduce program uptake. The Trump administration’s reintroduction of these barriers is projected to significantly shrink the number of marketplace enrollees. The consequences of this will extend beyond those who may forgo coverage due to these added hurdles, but may lead to increased insurance premiums for those purchasing through the exchange as younger, healthier individuals leave the insurance risk pool.
In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Jalisa Clark, Justin Giovannelli, and Christine H. Monahan discuss the impact of administrative hurdles and the new enrollment barriers consumers can face. You can read the full post here.