A Gillette resident was forced to drop his Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage after his monthly premiums surged by 350%, jumping from $620 to roughly $2,200.
Clay Cundy, a self-employed IT consultant, is among millions of Americans no longer enrolled in Obamacare marketplace coverage following the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies for individuals making more than 400% of the federal poverty level. Department of Health and Human Services data places the nationwide decline at roughly 3 million enrollees, while the Trump administration has attributed part of the drop to stepped-up efforts to remove improper marketplace enrollments.
The steep cost increase forced Cundy to abandon his health insurance policy, which he noted amounted to roughly his wife’s entire salary for a single policy. The financial pressure left the family weighing difficult choices. We’d have had to decide, are we going to pay for her tuition?
Cundy said.
Are we going to pay for health insurance?
After dropping his ACA policy, Cundy attempted to find coverage in the private insurance market but faced repeated rejections. We tried to get private insurance three separate times, and we were denied coverage all three times,
Cundy said. We’re not willfully trying to go without insurance. I’m 55, so that’s kind of a bad time in your life to not have insurance.
Cundy manages eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic condition causing esophageal swelling and difficult swallowing that requires strict dietary management, expensive procedures, and medication. His prescription for Dupixent costs roughly $6,000 a month, with copays remaining around $500 even when insured.
While his wife’s employer, Step Stone Counseling in Gillette, searched for options, the family initially settled for an accident plan—a supplemental policy that pays preset cash benefits for injuries but offers no coverage for sickness, cancer, chronic pre-existing conditions, or large hospital bills.
Cundy was eventually able to secure a short-term insurance policy through his wife’s employer after months of struggle, though the plan carries significant limits and may not be renewable after the year ends.
My wife works for a small business, so my wife’s employer is working very hard to provide insurance for her employees,
Cundy said. She really wants to make sure they’re taken care of. But it’s a minefield even for her, and this has been going on all year.
The ongoing insurance struggles have led Cundy to consider abandoning self-employment for a job with benefits, such as a state parks interpretive ranger position that would pay half his current earnings but include health insurance and state retirement benefits.
