<p>Busdriver11: because of the way Oregon is implementing the ACA, I am quite certain our insurance meets the government standards. </p>
<p>I’ve seen many people question whether 20-somethings will buy insurance if it’s cheaper not to. We also offer our employees AFLAC accident insurance, at the actual cost of the insurance. MOST of our employees (about 85%) consider that insurance worth the cost. More of our youngest employees–the mid-20s who commute to work by bicycle–buy it than the older employees. Of course, most of our bicycle commuters have also been hit by cars, a circumstance that makes accident insurance very appealing. (Strangely, at least three of them have been hit by bus mirrors.)</p>
<p>“Of course, most of our bicycle commuters have also been hit by cars, a circumstance that makes accident insurance very appealing. (Strangely, at least three of them have been hit by bus mirrors.)”</p>
<p>Wow. That is awful, I never thought of commuting to work on a bicycle to be so dangerous. We get an occasional biker hit around here, but not so often.</p>
<p>Busdriver11: I should be clear. Getting hit by a car can mean anything from minor damage to a bike to actual injuries. Some of our employees ride literally hundreds of miles a week. Cars are huge weapons of destruction with poor visibility, if you look at them from a cyclist’s point of view. I’ve never been hit personally (I ride about 50 miles a week, if that), but I have a close call at least once a week. Yesterday it was a man in a convertible who pulled out in front of me and I had to hit the brakes hard; he looked horrified when he saw me bearing down on him. I managed to stop about two feet from his door. </p>
<p>Car drivers routinely underestimate how fast cyclists are going and how easily they can stop.</p>
<p>Obamacare’s employer mandate affects 1% of businesses. No business with fewer than 50 employees is mandated to provide insurance and about 97% of large businesses already do.</p>
<p>However, all businesses, I believe, can get subsidies should they provide insurance.</p>
<p>When the plans on the exchange are released, there will be multiple levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze. These will have different costs and degrees of coverage.</p>
<p>I listened into our congressman’s phone call-in recently, and one of the callers complained that Obamace was forcing him to give up his insurance to “go on Obamacare”. The congressman asked what insurance he had and the caller said he was a federal worker and he was in the federal government insurance. </p>
<p>Not to speak for hayden, but perhaps what was meant was that even this federal government employer didn’t understand Obamacare, since people with insurance through their employers don’t buy it through the exchange.</p>
<p>The law is very complicated and it hasn’t been explained well.</p>
<p>People like almost all of the individual elements but the overall bill doesn’t poll well. Then again, some of those who say they don’t like it wanted an approach that was more liberal. Only about a third of the population wants it repealed.</p>
<p>You can keep your insurance if you get it through your employer, Medicaid, Medicare or Trio (active military or veterans)</p>
<p>Individuals without that sort of coverage can get it through the marketplaces. Many will get subsidies.</p>
<p>Ah, I see. However, if this federal gov’t employee works for a Congressman, he will indeed have to buy his insurance on the exchange in the near future.</p>
<p>Apparently, there is no mechanism for their insurance costs to be paid for by their employer (the fed gov’t) either, yet. So they must pay the full cost themselves, although I imagine many of them will qualify for subsidies based on their income.</p>
<p>Sorry for not being more clear, Bay, and thanks for helping out, momfromme. Actually as the gentlemen talked (“go on Obamacare”), it was fairly clear he thought that Obamacare is an insurance plan itself, with death panels, etc. Obamacare may be complicated, but there is little excuse for people being that uninformed.</p>
<p>Edited to add: I don’t live in a state close enough to DC for anyone here to work for a congressman.</p>
<p>Most (if not all) Congressmen have staffed offices in their home states, as well as staffed offices in DC. The employees who work for Congressmen in DC come from all over the country.</p>
<p>I’m going to assume that if he worked for a congressman, he wouldn’t have to sit on a phone for an hour to ask some other congressman if he was going to lose his insurance plan.</p>
<p>Ha. My congressman has voted against ACA all 40 times. No lobbying necessary. </p>
<p>Given the number of federal workers in any given state vs the number who work for congressmen in the home districts, the chances are really small that this guy was one of the latter. </p>
<p>The larger point is that there are many people adamantly opposed to the ACA who don’t have even the vaguest notion of its major points. Even the Congressman on the phone said he was totally against the personal mandate, but added that he was “of course” in favor of making insurers ignore pre existing conditions. That’s probably willful though. </p>
<p>If these people don’t try to understand the law, they will have difficulty using the law to their advantage.</p>
<p>One question that I had - and maybe someone here can clarify - I heard that the subsidies are not meant to go on past the first two years. </p>
<p>My financial advisor has recommended avoiding the exchanges, if at all possible. After looking at the tiers and out of pocket costs, he said for most who have to buy on individual market, they might still be better off buying a policy on their own in terms of cost and coverage. </p>
<p>One of biggest concerns is that doctor selection will be more limited, because there will be limited providers within a tier.</p>
<p>There was an article in the Wall Street Journal this week saying that fewer and fewer doctors are taking Medicare because the reimbursements are so low. </p>
<p>The law is too complex. An acquaintance working at one of the major insurers said their teams of lawyers were finding it too complex to figure out.</p>
<p>Premiums for individual policies purchased through the exchanges are reportedly significantly lower–50 percent in NY. Other results may vary depending on your state and how diligently it’s being implemented. </p>
<p>Too complicated? Here’s the law in 13 pages from the Kaiser Family Foundation–my most trusted source on health care. </p>
<p>The part of the law that applies to consumers isn’t more complicated than the current system (current in the sense that the major parts of the ACA haven’t kicked in yet). After a long hospital stay, it currently takes an accountant to figure out who the bills are from, what the charges are, and how much is insured. We could barely identify the provider names! Insurance is hard. It’s just we’re used to the current system.</p>