Why does age matter? We wanted to illustrate the effect of age on coverage options. First, the Affordable Care Act permits children up to the age of 26 to be covered by their parent’s health insurance plan; the calculator does not consider any CEO who is under the age of 26.

In addition, most Americans become eligible for Medicare when they turn 65. The calculator assumes that any CEO will be covered by Medicare if “65 years and older.” The calculator does not consider any CEO who is “65 years and older” and covered by an employer.

What is "Coverage Level"? It describes the number of persons insured by a health insurance policy. The calculator assumes one of two levels of coverage:

• "Single" coverage is purchased for one individual. The terms "beneficiary" or "recipient" may also be used for individuals covered by Medicare and Medicaid, respectively.
• "Family" coverage is purchased for more than one person, all of whom are members of the same family (e.g., CEO plus spouse, child or children).

What are "Annual Earnings"? They might be salary paid by an employer, income made from a business, or payments received from Social Security, pension plan, savings account, or another source of income.

The calculator assumes that each CEO has annual earnings.

Why are earnings important? We wanted to illustrate the effect of earnings on coverage options. While an individual who has annual earnings of $15,000 or more would generally not qualify for Medicaid, a family of six person might qualify for Medicaid in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility. Therefore, the calculator assumes that a CEO with:

• Family coverage and annual earnings of $15,000 to $30,000 qualifies for Medicaid.
• Individual coverage is insured by an employer or Obamacare depending on employment status.

The calculator does not consider annual earnings of less than $15,000 given other eligibility issues.

Why is employment status important? We wanted to illustrate the effect of employment status on coverage options. If employed (and “26-64 years of age”), then the CEO will have employer-sponsored coverage; if retired, then the CEO is no longer eligible for employer coverage. The CEO may be eligible for Medicaid, Medicare, or Obamacare depending on other characteristics.

The calculator does not consider unemployed as a status option nor COBRA as a coverage option.

What is the relationship between "65 and older" and "Annual Earnings"? Medicare beneficiaries enroll in coverage during annual enrollment, and we wanted to illustrate the effect of income on their choices:

• If living on a fixed income (e.g., $15,000 to $30,000), a beneficiary might enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan to lower monthly premium.
• If living on a higher income (e.g., more than $30,000), a beneficiary might enroll in Original Medicare, which may have a higher monthly premium (and broader provider network).

The calculator does not consider Medicare Supplemental plans given other eligibility issues.

What about other circumstances that might affect health care coverage? The calculator does not consider personal circumstances such as caregiver status (Medicaid), disability (Medicaid and/or Medicare), and pregnancy (Medicaid).

What is average expenditure? The U.S. spent $3.3 trillion in health care in 2016, or $10,348 per capita. We wanted to illustrate how health care expenditures differ between the four systems (employer, Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare).

What else? The eligibility rules for employer, Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare are complicated. They vary by program and often change from year to year. The calculator does not consider these rules, nor does it make any attempt to replicate them. The results are for illustrative purposes only.

Sources: 1) “National Health Care Spending in 2016” in Health Affairs (January 2018) by Micah Hartman, Anne B. Martin, Nathan Espinosa, Aaron Catlin, and the National Health Expenditure Accounts Team; 2) “Employer Health Benefits 2017 Summary of Findings” by The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust; 3) Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF.org)