Paragon’s “It’s Not Just the Prices” referenced in Politico – September 4, 2024

On September 4, 2024, Paragon’s paper “It’s Not Just the Prices,” by Daniel Cruz and Greg Fann, was highlighted in Politico Pulse.

From the article:

As enrollment in the Obamacare marketplace plan has increased, buoyed by premium subsidies for middle- and low-income people, plan quality has fallen, the conservative Paragon Health Institute wrote in a new report.

The think tank found that the share of consumers in plans with broad provider networks dropped from 36 percent in 2014 to 11 percent in 2023, and premiums have risen faster than those in employer plans. A recent KFF report found that most marketplace-plan enrollees were in plans that have less than half of local doctors in their network.

And middle-income enrollees have been more likely to pick a lower-level plan than previously, the group found.

Why they say it’s happening: The group said the Affordable Care Act’s risk adjustment program pays insurers too much for lower-income enrollees.

“We’re seeing a race to the bottom in plan quality,” said Brian Blase, Paragon’s president and a former Trump policy adviser. “Risk adjustment is not adequately accounting for the fact that low-income enrollees are using much less health care.”

Paragon said subsidies’ design reinforces diminishing plan quality.

The full article can be found in Politico.