Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts related to health care reform Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare, Covered California, coverage, conditions, enrollment.
Numerous opinion polls have concluded that a majority of Americans don’t support Obamacare based on what they have heard about it. Of course, a majority of Americans are covered by either group health plans or Medicare and could really care less about learning the specifics of the Affordable Care Act. I dare say that if you polled people on select, specific elements of the ACA, you’ll find a majority of Americans approve of Obamacare.
The new Affordable Care Act health plans offered through Covered California will help many people move out of an expensive COBRA plan and into an insurance plan with lower premiums. However, COBRA is considered “employer offered” health insurance that meets minimum essential benefits and value. Because of this many people and families on, or offered, COBRA will NOT be eligible for tax credits to reduce the monthly premiums of Covered California plans.
Open enrollment for the new Covered California health plans launches October 1st. But you don’t have to rush into unknown waters and sign up for coverage that doesn’t start until January 1, 2014. Because these health plans are new, it would be prudent to avoid immediately enrolling until the health plans have been reviewed and all the details are known.
The misguided training was a missed opportunity to explain the importance of Covered California and how the ACA will help millions of people get access to affordable health insurance and quality care. Instead we were told that health plans were expecting lots of sick people to seek care and they were cutting back on their providers. You know, “those people” were going to use the system they had been shut of for years by insurance companies who were just “following the rules” of being able to deny sick people health insurance. It wasn’t the fault of the insurance company, one trainer opined.
If an agent is strongly opposed to Obamacare they should seriously consider not even selling ACA compliant health plans. Clients are better served by those who believe in the product than those who are selling just for the money.
The glitch that leaves single parents paying for health insurance earlier and at a higher rate than a two parent household has to do with the way the federal poverty level is calculated coupled with the way Covered California is calculating premium assistance.
The National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) have signed on to lend their support of a website that seeks to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. The website, The Affordable Coverage Project, is calling for the repeal of the health insurance taxes that made Obamacare originally revenue neutral and finances the tax credits that will make health insurance affordable for millions of Americans.
People and families from across the Sacramento region descended upon the Coffee Garden to help launch the outreach and educational campaign for the Affordable Care Act this past Sunday, August 4th. The local chapter of Organizing For Action in conjunction with UCDavis Health Systems presented an overview of the Covered California state health insurance marketplace organized under the health care reform legislation known as Obamacare.
The new strategy of the GOP and Tea Party unveiled this summer to derail Obamacare is to encourage young adults not to purchase health insurance. It is beyond my comprehension that they would rely on the government, either through the promise of the individual mandate or persuasive marketing, to deliver a certain percentage of young adults for enrollment.
Seriously, can you fathom a middle income man paying over $8,000 per year for health insurance? From COBRA or HIPAA.
