Maine’s uninsured rate is 8.1% as of 2019, when Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) tallied the number of people without health insurance in the state. In numbers, that means about 105,000 people didn’t have healthcare coverage in Maine that year.
When KFF looked at the tally again this year, they found that of the people who still didn’t have health insurance, around 63,500 could qualify for a marketplace plan.
Marketplace plans are regulated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the nation’s current healthcare law. The ACA ensures that people with pre-existing conditions can get coverage and requires major medical plans to cover a set of 10 essential health benefits.
The law also offers tax credits (aka subsidies) to people who earn between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. These subsidies help make health insurance more affordable. KFF estimates that in 2021, about 13% of the marketplace-eligible people without health insurance in Maine could get a bronze plan for free thanks to subsidies.
The nonprofit also calculated average monthly premiums based on metal tier type for 2021. They found that the average lost cost plans in each category were as follows: $348 a month for bronze, $435 for silver and $494 for gold.
These averages don’t factor in any subsidies. If you qualify for one, you may save money on your health insurance premiums in Maine.
Using info from our own marketplace, we found that a 40-year-old in Portland, Maine, with an income of $37,000 a year could get a bronze plan for $215.42 with applied tax credits. Your cost for health insurance will depend on where you live, as will your options for coverage.
There are at least three insurers in Maine offering marketplace plans in 2021, including Anthem, Maine Community Health Options and Harvard Pilgrim.
Sources
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Marketplace Eligibility Among the Uninsured: Implications for a Broadened Enrollment Period and ACA Outreach” (January 27, 2021)
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Average Marketplace Premiums by Metal Tier, 2018-2021”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Insurer Participation on the ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2021” (November 23, 2020)