Obamacare: “You’re too poor to qualify for subsidies”

**Posted by Phineas

Ran across this gem while reading Ben Domenech’s article on the “Delay and Defund” battle in Congress:

Here’s an interesting piece from Klein and Kliff on the implementation PR push, which contains multiple warning signs for the difficulty of making the law a reality. “In states that refuse the Medicaid expansion, residents whose incomes are above the poverty line ($11,490 for an individual) will still have access to tax credits for purchasing private insurance on the exchanges. Those below the poverty line, however, will not receive help obtaining coverage. That lessens the law’s reach, and creates an unexpected messaging problem: How does the White House tell certain citizens that they earn too little to qualify for any help? “How do you explain this in a way that seems fair and reasonable, that the higher income people get help but you don’t?” said Mike Perry, a founding partner at Democratic polling firm Perry Undem Research. “Advocates on the ground are really struggling with that group. They want to have a positive message but don’t know what to say.”

I really want to see one of those Obamacare “navigators” explain that to a “client.”

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

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