Clinics bill free ACA checkups a second time as sick visits when patients raise a health problem, in one case $170 for a mention of back stiffness. The ACA never defined the visit, so each insurer draws that line and patients find it on the bill.
Reality
- Evidence40
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives60
- Confidence45
Mercer's survey of 1,800 employers has benefit costs per employee rising 8.2% in 2027, the steepest jump since 2003. Two-thirds of large companies plan to raise the employee premium share, and one independent medical practice was quoted 22.5%.
Reality
- Evidence68
- Adoption55
- Hype gap+14
- Incentives58
- Confidence64
More than half of small-group insurers expect to raise rates by 10% to 20% next year, and because employers cover about 80% of the premium, the increase competes with payroll inside the same small budget.
Reality
- Evidence45
- Adoption60
- Hype gap+25
- Incentives55
- Confidence42
Federal data show nearly 3 million fewer people covered through the exchanges after premiums rose about 30 percent on average. The bill for that arrives at firms that never wrote the policy. Nobody has sized it yet.
Reality
- Evidence42
- Adoption55
- Hype gap+32
- Incentives46
- Confidence38
The state with the least employer coverage in the country lost the most marketplace members and one of the smallest shares of them. That combination is what insurers elsewhere price against in 2027.
Reality
- Evidence61
- Adoption84
- Hype gap+16
- Incentives64
- Confidence56
A labor economist's survey puts just under 57 million people in jobs with no career track and no security. The largest category is not contractors or gig drivers but ordinary employees.
Reality
- Evidence34
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+31
- Incentives71
- Confidence38