By Marcus Denton
The Texas Health Insurance Pool (THIP) insures more than 23,000 Texans with pre-existing health conditions. Beginning in 2014, THIP enrollees will be able to buy coverage in the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Exchange and will no longer be denied insurance or charged more based on their health status. To obtain a snapshot of cost differences between THIP and the exchange, this policy brief compares premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximum costs for an average THIP enrollee at various income levels and finds that the exchange will provide many current THIP enrollees with significantly more affordable insurance options. In fact, lower-income Texans will likely save thousands of dollars annually. This brief outlines the steps needed to transition enrollees from THIP to the Health Insurance Exchange in 2014.
You can read the full paper here.
