The Health and Human Services Department has introduced a lot of Health Care Reform regulations and rules in the past few months. The media grabs it every time it happens and many articles are published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and TV news programs. All analysts begin to discuss the pros and cons of the news and how it affects businesses and individuals.
This is where the problem lies. Many times, one writer has looked at the regulation and written a piece about. Other writers then take pieces from the first article and modify them to fit their articles. The actual regulations and rules are often distorted and misrepresented by the media when the information is widely distributed.
There is a lot of misinformation about ObamaCare. One thing I have noticed in my conversations with clients is that there is an underlying set myths about ObamaCare that are not true. These myths are often believed to be true because of what they have heard in the media.
Today, we will be discussing three myths that I most often hear. These myths may not be believed by everyone, but many do.
The first is that health reform does not affect uninsured persons. The second is that health care reform won’t affect Medicare benefits or the Medicare program. The last is that healthcare reform will reduce healthcare costs.
Health Care Reform Does Not Affect Uninsured
Let’s examine the first myth that health care reform will only affect uninsured persons. I often hear clients say that they have coverage so they won’t be affected. Or they will use the expression “I already have coverage so I won’t be affected” or “I just keep my grandfathered insurance plan.” The last one is true, but I can’t deny it. It is “I have group insurance so I won’t be affected”.
The truth is that everyone will be affected by health care reform. We will have a new set of health insurance plans starting in 2014. These plans offer many more features than the current plans. These plans will be more expensive.
Health Care Reform’s Impact on People With Health Insurance
These plans will be available to people who have current health insurance. This will directly affect the insured as the current health plans they have are ending and they will be mapped to a new ObamaCare plan in 2014.
Health Care Reform: The Impact on the Uninsured
Uninsured people face an additional problem: if they do not get health insurance in 2014 they will be subject to a mandate penalty. Many healthy people will look at the penalty and say “Well, it’s 1% of my adjusted income. I make $50,000 so I’ll have to pay $500 or $1,000 for insurance.” I will accept the penalty in that situation. They will still be affected by the health care reform. It affects both the insured and the uninsured by its mandate.
Health Care Reform and Grandfathered Health Plans
