Millions of people without health insurance do not have bank accounts to pay for their plans, including one-quarter of those who qualify for Obamacare subsidies, reports the Washington Post.
The startling statistic comes from Jackson Hewitt and raises growing concerns over whether those who applied for Obamacare will make their premium payments.
“Research shows that millions of uninsured people don’t have bank accounts–rates are particularly high among minority groups–which could challenge their ability to pay for new coverage,” reports the Post.
How individuals lacking a bank account will submit their monthly Obamacare premium payments is presently unclear; however, the Post notes that CVS Caremark announced this week it will permit Obamacare customers to make their monthly payments–presumably in cash–inside their drug stores.
This week, Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens announced that over half of his state’s 221,604 Obamacare applicants have yet to pay for their plans. Georgia’s high non-payment rate stands in stark contrast with claims by the Obama administration that 15% to 20% of the eight million people it claims are “enrolled” in Obamacare have yet to pay their premium to active coverage. The New York Times says at least one in five people who signed up for Obamacare have not paid.
Obamacare will cost U.S. taxpayers $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years.