According to a report from nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), there were about 148,300 people without health insurance in Nebraska as of 2019. That amounts to just under 8% of the state’s total population. When KFF looked at the uninsured rate again in 2021, they found that about 63,500 could qualify for marketplace coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Marketplace plans cover 10 essential health benefits, like preventive care, hospitalization, prescription drugs and mental health care. These plans also guarantee coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and offer other consumer protections.
Along with these protections and consumer benefits, the ACA provides advance premium tax credits (aka subsidies) to people who earn between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. Tax credits help to reduce monthly premium costs for people who qualify, which most people do.
In fact, KFF estimates that of the people who still don’t have health insurance in Nebraska as of 2021, nearly half of them (46%) could get bronze marketplace health insurance for free — meaning zero monthly premium.
The nonprofit also looked at average premiums for this year and found that average lowest priced plans at each level were as follows: $439 for a bronze plan, $645 for silver and $631 for gold. These averages don’t take into account any premium subsidies. But note that in Nebraska, the average lowest cost gold plan is less expensive than the silver one.
If you live in Nebraska and qualify for a tax credit, you may pay less for your health insurance.
Using our own marketplace, we’ve estimated that a 40-year-old living in Lincoln making $37,000 a year qualifies for financial help. With a tax credit, our hypothetical Nebraskan could find a bronze plan for $0 a month — yep, that means nothing out of pocket for the plan itself.
Of course, access to plans and what you pay for coverage depend on where you live. There are at least two companies offering marketplace health insurance in Nebraska in 2021. These include Bright Health and Medica.
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)