79% of Obamacare Enrollees Qualify for Subsidies

79% of Obamacare Enrollees Qualify for Subsidies

on Tue, 14 Jan 2014

Nearly four in five Americans who have enrolled in Obamacare need taxpayer-funded subsidies to pay for their premiums.

According to the White House, 79% of those enrolled in Obamacare need subsidies because they cannot otherwise afford the premiums that have, in some cases, nearly doubled. Only 21% did not need subsidies. 

As Businessweek noted, people "earning up to four times the poverty rate—as much as $96,000 a year for a family of four"—can get Obamacare subsidies from the federal government. 

The White House said 2.1 million Americans had signed up for Obamacare plans by the end of December, though many of these Americans may not yet have coverage because of a variety of glitches and malfunctions that have plagued the Obamacare websites.