On September 24, at 8:00am, Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi sponsored an Affordable Care Act seminar at the Hermosa Clark Building down the street from the Hermosa Beach City Hall. These Affordable Care Act seminars have been popping up all over the South Bay in the last few weeks, trying to prepare the Medicare exchanges y for California residents to purchase insurance.
About fifteen people arrived.
Assemblyman Muratsuchi addressed the small group first, informing everyone that the seminar would assist in making Obamacare work for them. “The train has left the building,” Muratsuchi commented, so everyone has to work with it.
I could not help thinking of US Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana, and retiring) who described the 2014 rollout of this law as a “train wreck”. After an hour presentation from Small Business Majority rep Marcia Davalos, the wreck looked bigger, yet now no one can look away.
Assemblyman Murastuchi shared that California was leading the way for states to enact Medicare exchanges. Davalos commented that despite the budget battles in Congress, Covered California (the state’s Medicare Exchanges) will not be defunded, so there is nothing to worry about. Of course, she never addressed the matter of unfunded. . .
Starting her presentation, Davalos presented graphs detailing rising health care costs in 2008, and if nothing was done, those costs would continue to rise. She also related, and rightly so, that small businesses pay a greater percentage of their budget toward health care costs. What she failed to acknowledge is that small businesses incur less revenue to begin with, compared to larger companies.
Why do small businesses not insure their employees? The high health care costs. No one has ever differed on this reality, but President Obama’s signature legislation has only aggravated those costs while diminishing access and raising taxes on working Americans.
Like many Affordable Care Act proponents Davalos emphasized the popular provisions of the law, like permitting children to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26, or preventing insurance companies from declining coverage for clients with pre-existing conditions. She failed to consider the concerns of young people who would rather purchase their own insurance.
Obamacare also requires health insurance companies to invest 80% of their revenue toward medical costs, and up to 20% on administrative needs. Some companies are receiving rebates from their insurance companies, including one gentleman at the seminar, who had received $15,000. Davalos promoted that small businesses would receive larger tax credits.
Davalos assert that Obamacare has no employer mandate, but she featured that the fines would go into effect in 2015 (per Obama’s unconstitutional rewriting of his law). Businesses with fifty or more employees which do not provide insurance will pay a fine. Still, Davalos neglected to realize that businesses seek profits, and they want to maintain a high profit margin. Facing a mandated cost, whether providing insurance or paying a fine, businesses will lose revenue because of Obamcare.
From the business mandate, or fee, the speaker pivoted to the individual mandate. Americans have to pay for affordable health insurance, or pay a fine, which will increase over the next three years, as well.
Employers do not have to, but individuals have to. No wonder people are concerned.
Davalos then discussed the definition of “unaffordable”: insurance greater than 9.5% of one’s income. How many Americans are receiving an income, I wonder? She outlined different insurance plans available, from catastrophic to bronze, all the way to platinum, depending on the upfront costs an individual is willing to pay.
Enrollment in Covered CA begins October 1. At this part of her presentation, Davalos shared that California operatives had considered calling the exchanges “Avocado”, The whole program is starting to look like guacamole, and not very tasty. The states are grinding, not smoothly, rolling out all the information regarding individual enrollment.
The California Medicare exchanges, according to Davalos, contain five insurance companies. Recently, those numbers have reduced to two. Kaiser is contemplating whether to remain.
After an hour presentation, Davalos took questions. Two residents from Hermosa Beach announced their rising health insurance premiums. Another business owner discussed her anxiety about providing health insurance or directing employees to the Medicare exchanges. Another attendee discussed that Cedar Sinai will not accept insurance provided by the Medicare exchanges. Demonstrating the informed cadre of those attending, one person referenced Forbes Magazine, which reported that health care premiums are rising an average of $7,450. Another person said that Obamacare is “capitalism at its best” because of a forced market of insurance options.
Someone then mentioned that Walgreens has pushed 120,000 off the company’s health insurance, indicating that the employer mandate has forced fewer hours and opportunities for employees. Davalos countered that the corporation overseeing Olive Garden and Red Lobster cut hours for its employees following passage of Obamacare. The customer reaction was so vocal in opposition, that the restaurant industries brought back the hours.
I asked about the health insurance subsidy which low-income enrollees can receive. The lower costs are factored into the Medicare exchange calculator on the Covered CA website, Davalos explained.
There were questions afterwards, many of which remained unanswered.
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