美国国家公共电台 NPR--In more and more states, filing taxes can help people find health insurance

In more and more states, filing taxes can help people find health insurance

Transcript¹

A growing number of states are using the tax filing system to connect people to Medicaid or subsidized health insurance at a time of incredible churn for health insurance.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

All right, what's more annoying than paying taxes? Well, shopping for health insurance is pretty high up there. But Sarah Boden with member station WESA in Pittsburgh reports that in a growing number of states, filing taxes can actually make finding health insurance a little easier.

SARAH BODEN, BYLINE²: Diana Avellaneda does people's taxes in Maryland, and when she tells her clients they might qualify for low-cost health care coverage³, many don't believe her.

DIANA AVELLANEDA: It's like a taboo⁴, right? Like, oh, no, no, no. This is just for very low-income people. No, it's not. It's not.

BODEN: She's talking about Medicaid or the coverage you can buy on the health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable⁵ Care Act. These plans are now more affordable than they have been in years. And in Maryland, taxpayers⁶ can find out their eligibility⁷ by simply checking a box on their tax returns. Doing so doesn't automatically enroll⁸ them in health coverage, but it creates a warm handoff that gives a consumer an estimate of the kind of financial assistance they qualify for.

AVELLANEDA: My experience with the people that I have asked if they have applied⁹ - my experience is, like, 80% of them have qualified¹⁰.

BODEN: You do still have to follow through and sign up for coverage. Yet in the windy nightmare that is health insurance, what Maryland created is remarkably¹¹ efficient.

ANTOINETTE KRAUS: I think anything that helps get uninsured individuals connected to coverage through something they already have to do every year is a win-win for everyone.

BODEN: Antoinette Kraus of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network says she was a big advocate for her state to follow Maryland's lead, which it did last year. Kraus notes that the number of uninsured Pennsylvanians and Americans is at an all-time low.

KRAUS: So the folks that are left that don't have health coverage are often some of the folks that are hardest to find.

BODEN: But everyone has to file their taxes. By next year, a total of 10 states will have some form of easy enrollment¹² program, including Maine, California and New Jersey¹³. This is all happening at a time of incredible churn for health insurance, due in large part to the end of COVID-19 era policies, which are forcing people to reenroll in Medicaid or find new insurance if they make too much money. So having a simple way to connect people to health care coverage is a good idea. Coleman Drake is a health policy expert at the University of Pittsburgh, where he studies insurance markets.

COLEMAN DRAKE: Most enrollees are eligible¹⁴, if not for zero-premium plans with, I should mention, really generous coverage. They can typically get them for under $10, under $20 a month.

BODEN: Drake cautions using the tax system to point people toward health insurance isn't going to get everyone covered. Only about 10,000 Marylanders have gotten insurance this way since 2020, and that's less than 3% of the total uninsured population in that state. The number in Pennsylvania is estimated to be super small, too. But Drake says there needs to be more initiatives that cut through red tape and lower the administrative¹⁵ burden of getting health insurance. And what Maryland started and Pennsylvania continued is a step forward.

DRAKE: Uninsurance in general is extremely costly¹⁶ to society. So whatever we can do here to make signing up for health insurance easy, I think is an advantage.

BODEN: This lower-cost coverage is out there for consumers. To not take advantage of it is like leaving money on the table.

For NPR News, I'm Sarah Boden in Pittsburgh.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

4 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

5 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

6 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

7 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

8 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

9 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

10 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

11 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

12 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

13 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

14 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

15 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

16 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。