The State of California sponsored the following text, written well before the ObamaCare rollout, beginning on October 1. My comments as editor, follow each statement.
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1.
Co-pays
are a thing of the past for many routine items and preventative care, like
physicals, immunizations, and cancer screenings.
But deductibles on many/most new policies will be very high
(1500 to 5000 dollars)
2.
Young
adults can stay on their parents’ insurance until they’re 26, even if they’re
married, working, and living on their own.
So why would any of these people apply for ObamaCare
coverage? This represents a rather
large population of healthy young adults,
the very people ObamaCare must enroll in order to pay for the
program.
3.
You
can no longer be excluded for having a pre-existing condition, or be charged
more than a healthy person of the same age.
So why not pay the cheaper fine and wait until you become ill
or injured? You cannot be
refused; meanwhile, you are saving thousands of dollars. Understand that if this becomes a popular
strategy for the working poor, the
program is doomed.
4.
Starting
January 1, 2014, most Americans must have health insurance via private
insurance, their employer, Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California), or
Medicare. You’re exempt if the cheapest qualifying health plan costs more
than 8% of your income after tax credits and subsidies.
All 10 points on this list were written before October 1. Now,
we know that the enrollment period will be extended, because of massive problems with the
government’s website. “Most” American’s
is not an accurate statement. All
citizens (if that is what is meant by “most Americans) will either have
coverage of some kind (insurance or Medicaid) or will be paying a fine.
5.
Each
state will have a health insurance exchange (California’s is called Covered
California). These exchanges will act as marketplaces where different
insurance providers will offer high-quality, affordable plans for consumers
to choose from.
The exact number is difficult to find, but less than 20 states
have their own exchanges. More than 30
have opted out of the Medicaid base program,
not trusting the Federal government to keep its promises as to reimbursements
to each state for the increased Medicaid populations, anticipated.
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6.
The
first enrollment period will last from October 1st to the end of March, 2014. The
enrollment period in future years will be shorter.
Again, less than
150,000 have signed up for the insurance coverage, under ObamaCare, after the first three weeks. The enrollment period will have to be
extended, if for this reason alone.—even
if the website was working as hoped.
Understand that the initial “roll-out” for ObamaCare has already cost
the Feds more than $600 million and the task at hand, is not completed. Originally,
this price tag was to have been less than $300 million. Turns out,
it might be closer to one billion dollars.
7.
If
you have insurance through your employer, you’re already covered and
shouldn’t expect anything to change. You do still have the right to see if
you can find a better plan on your own.
Percentage wise, very
few existing plans will meet to the new legal standards under ObamaCare, which means that your plan will cost more
and/or your deductibles will be raised to startling levels . . . .
if, in fact, your employer can afford the new policies.
I cannot find a reliable number estimating the number of employers opting out
of the system, but it is
substantial. Also, understand that there are no private
insurance policies that are not governed by the Federal government, after October 1 of 2013.
8.
If
you have an individual plan, you’re considered covered, but your insurance
company may change your plan in the coming year.
On fact, this is
beginning to appear to be the norm.
All insurance plans will experience some change in their written
statement of benefits and the cost of those plans will skyrocket.
9.
The
penalty for not having insurance starts at $95 or 1% of your income,
whichever is greater. This penalty will increase in future years.
In fact, the very next
year, the 95 dollar penalty will
increase to $300 but will always be less than the amount you would pay for insurance
coverage under ObamaCare. Understand
that these increases will become a factor in the 2016 national elections.
10. The Affordable Care Act does not apply to
people who are not legal residents.
And we all know that millions of “illegals” are already being
enrolled. You should know that the
program currently has no ability to verify citizenship or income statements needed to determine federal
assistance (“subsidies”); neither does it have protections against
hackers invading the system, looking
to misuse your personal information.
In fact, you have to sign a
statement agreeing that you have not right to expect privacy as to the
information you give to Central Planning.
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