Some Americans who qualify for Obamacare subsidies are forgoing them, according to
U.S. News & World Report, typically for one of two reasons: To protest the healthcare law or to stand on principle that it’s unethical to accept taxpayer money for health insurance.
"I’m not going to increase the debt or take money from a taxpayer," said Dave Klemencic, a 55-year-old West Virginia resident who does not accept a subsidy
— he calls it welfare
— to which he is entitled under the law. Klemencic told U.S. News that he doesn’t believe the Constitution gives the government the right to offer subsidies.
Americans under the age of 65 with an annual income of up to $46,680 as an individual, or up to $95,400 for a family of four, qualify for subsidies.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision by June to a challenge to Obamacare subsidies. The case challenges whether people can qualify for tax credits when they buy their health insurance policies from the online federal exchange rather than a state-run marketplace.
As written, the law states that people qualify for tax credits when premiums are purchased in an online marketplace established by the state. Just 14 states have established their own marketplaces. Residents of states without their own online marketplace buy their coverage on the federal exchange.
If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, some 80 percent of people receiving Obamacare subsidies could lose those payments.
Kansas chiropractor Grace Brewer told U.S. News that she goes without health insurance rather than accept a subsidy.
"I want to pay my own way," said Brewer, 60. "I will not take a handout."
Brewer previously carried only catastrophic coverage and wanted to keep it, but her plan was discontinued because it did not comply with the Obamacare requirements. The cost of a new plan meant she had to choose between health insurance and housing. She opted for the latter.
"I wanted a minimal plan and I’m not allowed to have it," she said. "That seems like an encroachment on my freedom."
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