In the last couple of months we’ve seen many Health Care Reform rules and regulations implemented through Health and Human Services Department. Health and Human Services Department. Each time it is reported by the media of it. All kinds of articles appear within newspapers like the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the news shows on TV networks discuss the issue. Analysts begin talking of the benefits and drawbacks and what this means for people and businesses.
The problem is that many a writer sat down and read the rules and wrote a piece about the regulation. Later, other writers begin making use of the material from the first article , and then rewriting them to make it fit their own. As the information is widely disseminated in the media, the actual rules and rules become confused and dissected and what shows in the media often does not accurately reflect the truth of what regulations state.
There’s a lot of misinformation about the issues in the context of ObamaCare One of the things I’ve seen in conversations with clients is that there’s an undercurrent set of beliefs that people have heard about the health reforms which aren’t even true. However, because of the information they’ve read in the media, they believe that these myths are factual.
Today, we’ll be talking about three myths that I hear the most often. Many people aren’t convinced by those myths but many do, and some are not sure of what they be convinced of, which is why it’s worth the dispelling of these myths right now.
The first is that health reform is only affecting people who are uninsured. The second refers to Medicare Benefits and Medicare program won’t be affected by health reform. The final one is that the health reform will decrease the cost of healthcare.
Health Care Reform Only Affects Uninsured
Let’s examine the first misconception about health reform only impacting uninsured individuals. In the majority of conversations I have with my clients There are a number of different phrases they employ: “I already have coverage, so I won’t be affected by ObamaCare,” or “I’ll just keep my grandfathered health insurance plan,” and the final one – and here I’m able offer them a amount of room, since the assumption is accurate “I have group health insurance, so I won’t be affected by health care reform.”
In reality, it’s that the health reform law will affect all of us. In 2014, we’ll be offered a new array of health plans. the plans come with very substantial benefits, with a lot of additional features that the current plans don’t have today. Therefore, these plans will come at a more expensive.
Health Care Reform’s Effect On People With Health Insurance
Individuals who currently have health insurance will have to be transferred to these plans at some point in 2014. The covered are directly affected since the health insurance plans they are currently on are being eliminated and will be integrated into an entirely newly created ObamaCare plan in 2014.
Health Care Reform Effect On The Uninsured
Uninsured people face another issue, which is that, if they do not obtain health insurance coverage in 2014, they will be subject to penalties for not having insurance. A few of the healthy and uninsured will take a look at the penalty and think, “Well, the penalty is 1% of my adjusted gross income; I make $50,000, so I’ll pay a $500 penalty or $1,000 for health insurance. In that case I’ll just take the penalty.” However, regardless of the outcome they’ll have a direct impact from the health reform. The mandate will affect those who are insured, as well as the uninsured.
Health Care Reform Effect On People With Grandfathered Health Plans
The people who have health insurance plans that are grandfathered will not suffer directly from the health reform. But due to the time period of their health plans that they have grandfathered this will make the plans more expensive as they realize that there are options readily available that they could Healthiack quickly transfer to with greater benefits that will be more beneficial to anyone with medical issues they be suffering from.
For those who remain in the grandfathered plans the subscribers to the plan will begin to shrink and when that occurs the price of those old health plans that were grandfathered in will go up much faster than they are today. So, those who are grandfathered into health insurance plans could also be affected by ObamaCare.
Health Care Reform Effect On People With Group Health Insurance
The final one, the small group marketplace will be the most directly affected by the health reform. While the regulations of health reform mostly affect medium and large firms, as well as companies with fifty or more workers, small businesses are also likely to be affected even though they’re not subject to ObamaCare the law.
What polls and surveys are beginning to suggest is that some of the companies with less than 10 employees will be looking carefully at their options to eliminate health insurance altogether and stop having it as a cost to the business. Instead, they’ll make their employees receive health insurance through exchanges for health insurance.
Indeed, some carriers are declaring that they expect approximately 50% of small-sized groups that have 10 or less employees will drop their health insurance plans between 2014 between 2014 and 2016. This will have a significant impact on everyone who are covered by group health insurance and especially one of those small-sized companies which have dropped health insurance coverage.
There aren’t just the uninsured who will be affected by the health insurance reform. Everybody will be affected.
Health Care Reform Will Not Affect Medicare
Another misconception was that health care reform wouldn’t affect Medicare. This is hilarious because, immediately from the beginning the most significant cuts specifically targeted Medicare. Medicare program. If you take a look at Medicare’s part of the federal budget, you will see that in the year 1970, Medicare was just 4 percent in total U.S. federal budget, in 2011 the figure had risen to 16 percent of the budget.
If we take a look over the past 10-year period, 2002 until the year 2012 Medicare is among the top growing component of the major entitlement programs offered by the federal government. it has grown by nearly 70% over that time of time.
Because of the huge size Medicare is, and how rapidly it’s growing, it’s considered to be one of the major programs ObamaCare attempts to control on, to ensure it doesn’t ruin this U.S. Medicare is going be affected, and the first cuts to Medicare are already set at around $716 billion.
Medicare Advantage Cuts And The Effects
Of the $716 billion cut of which $716 billion is cut, the Medicare Advantage program gets cut the most and will experience the largest of the negative effects. What it will cause is to increase the costs that people are required to cover for Medicare Advantage insurance plans and decrease the benefits that these plans provide.
Increased Medicare Advantage Costs
Today, a lot of people are choosing Medicare Advantage plans because they offer no cost costs for premiums. If they are offered a choice of Medicare programs, people consider it as an easy option because it’s free for them “Sure, I get Medicare benefits, I don’t pay anything for it; why not.” Then they’ll see Medicare premiums begin to increase to the point of being zero to $70 or $80, $90 or $100. We’ve seen this already in some Blue Cross Medicare Advantage plans this year. The situation will become worse as we move further into the future.
Reduced Medicare Advantage Benefits
To reduce the price increases the majority of Medicare Advantage plans take is to raise the copayments, raise the deductibles, and alter the rates of co-insurance. In order to keep costs down, they’ll shift more of the cost onto Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. The increased cost of premiums as well as the reduced advantages are exactly what you’re likely to see in the Medicare Advantage plans.
Fewer Medicare Physicians
If that weren’t enough, once Medicare doctors start receiving less and lower reimbursements from Medicare Advantage patients They’ll stop accepting new Medicare Advantage patients. It’s likely to be the case that the doctor pool to care for those who are in Medicare beginning to shrink also, unless significant changes are made in the in the coming five years. This means that Medicare will be affected and is likely to be significantly affected by the health reform. Everyone’s waiting on the edge in anticipation of what’s coming up.
Health Care Reform Will Reduce Healthcare Costs
The final most likely to be the biggest misconception about health reform everyone believes that ObamaCare can lower the cost of healthcare. It’s a total nonsense. In the beginning of the process, as it was time to develop the regulations and rules, the main focus as well as one of the main goals in reform was to lower the cost of healthcare.
But at some point the focus changed towards cost-saving and the regulation in the insurance sector. When they completed that change, they put cost reductions onto the back of the agenda. There are a few small cost-cutting elements in ObamaCare however the main importance is in regulating health insurance. These plans as an instance, offer much more advantages than most plans currently as well as higher costs.
Health Care Reform Subsidies: Will They Make Plans Affordable?
Many people believe, “The subsidies are going to make health insurance plans more affordable, won’t they?” In some instances, the subsidies could help lower the cost of plans for those who need them. If you earn more than you should, the budget plans could cost a lot more and cost you thousands of dollars more in the time of the year. The question of whether a subsidy will make it affordable or unaffordable is a matter of debate at this moment in the future. We’ll need to see what rates are on these types of plans.
New Health Care Reform Taxes Passed On To Consumers
There’s also a plethora of health care reform taxes that were included in the system to fund ObamaCare. This means that everyone who is covered by an insurance policy whether in the form of a large group, small group, or as an individual, will be to be taxed to cover the costs of the reform. Health reform will add a variety of taxes on health insurance that insurance companies have to pay and collect, but they’ll just transfer it onto us the consumers.
Mandate Won’t Reduce Uninsured Very Much
In the first few years of the health reforms the mandate actually is quite fragile. The mandate states that all has to have medical insurance, or else pay the penalty (a tax). What it will result in is that healthy people remain on the sidelines and patiently wait for the mandate reach the point at which it will force them to purchase health insurance. Patients with chronic health issues that didn’t qualify for health insurance prior to now will all take on healthcare coverage from the beginning of 2014.
By the end of the period, it is expected that the price of the plans will rise in 2015. I’m confident that this is going to happen, since healthy young people will not be motivated to join the plans. They will not see the benefits of joining a costly plan while the chronically sick individuals will be drawn in the plans and push the cost up.
Health Care Reform’s Purpose Is Just A Matter Of Semantics
The last part of this article is one of the most important points – and this is funny I noticed it during the first two yearsof 2010 and ’11 – was that one of the most important items that were mentioned in the official documents of Obama’s administration was that Obama administration was that Health Care Reform would help cut the costs that will be incurred in the future , if we don’t take action today. It was reiterated frequently. It was the way they presented the health costs reduction, and in that it could reduce costs in the future. This is not the case now, but it will lower the amount we’d have to pay in the future if we do not do anything about it today.
It’s great that 10 years from now , we’re likely to pay less than what we would have. We all know the accuracy of future forecasts are. We’re all paying more for our services today and will be paying even more in 2014, and then more in 2015 and 2016. The public is likely to be very upset by this.
Conclusion
The three myths that claim healthcare reform is only likely to affect those who are uninsured, and that it will not be a problem for Medicare beneficiaries and ObamaCare will reduce the cost of healthcare and reduce healthcare costs, are all only the truth. They’re all myths. They are not true.
It’s crucial to keep an eye on the developments in health reform because there will be more changes coming during this year and 2013. Understanding how to set yourself up to be in the best position to take the right decision when 2014 begins will be extremely crucial for everyone.