Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the rapid growth of health insurance premiums and its impact on coverage affordability. Premium growth has far outpaced growth in workers earnings, which means that workers have to spend more of their income each year on health care to maintain current coverage levels. Less attention has been given to the disconnection between the growing cost of health insurance and eligibility for health care subsidies in public programs. It is clear that lower income people cannot afford health insurance without some assistance, and various federal and state programs exist to provide or subsidize health insurance for people with limited means.