Test Your Health Care Reform Knowledge

Last week marked the third anniversary of health care reform, formally, The Affordable Care Act (ACA). Where does the average American stand on the law?  Do they understand it? Are there misconceptions? Will they purchase affordable health insurance, in accordance with the individual mandate, or just stay uninsured?

Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) , a non-profit, non-partisan organization that researches and produces health policy and health information in the United States and around the world, released a new Health Tracking Poll detailing America’s current knowledge, expectation, and opinion of The Affordable Care Act.

Where do you stand?  Here is a quick quiz:

True

False

Dependent Coverage is available until age 26.

True

False

Everyone has to buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

True

False

There is now a government run health plan. 

True

False

All employers will have to offer health insurance.

True

False

You can purchase health insurance directly from a carrier, from an agent, or from one of the new health insurance exchanges.

Dependent coverage is available until age 26. TRUE.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 69 percent of the public knows that the ACA extended dependent coverage until the age of 26, and 76 percent of the public is favorable about this provision, 54 percent very favorable. The dependent coverage portion of the law took effect immediately on the date the law was signed, March 23, 2010. But, who is a dependent for health insurance? 

And, just because you can stay on a health plan as a dependent, should you?  Your income level might qualify you for subsidies available under health care reform, but you need your own health plan to take advantage of them. And, parents of dependents have their own reasons for getting adult children off their health plans, especially if they are Medicare age. 

Everyone has to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. TRUE. 

74 percent of the public knows about the individual mandate, or individual shared responsibility penalty, with 6 out of 10 Americans viewing it as unfavorable. 

There is now a government run health plan. FALSE. 

57 percent of the public thinks there is a government-run health plan, which is dubbed the “public option.” But, there is no public option. There are State or Federal Run Exchanges, but those are just marketplaces to regulate subsidy available for the purchase of private health insurance plans. California’s exchange is called Covered California. All health insurance plans that will be for sale in accordance with The Affordable Care Act are plans offered by private insurance carriers, whether or not they qualify for subsidy. You will be able to purchase these plans directly from an exchange, from an insurance carrier, or from a health insurance agent. The plans go on sale Oct. 1, 2013 for an effective date of Jan. 1, 2014. 

All Employers will have to offer health insurance. FALSE.

71 percent of the public understands that it is only employers with more than 50 full time employees that will have to offer insurance or pay a fine starting Jan. 1, 2014. The employer sponsored plan must not account for more than 9.5 percent of an employee’s wages, known as the employee affordability criteria. It is not illegal for businesses to not offer affordable health insurance for their employees, but the employer will pay a fine if they do not. No such fine exists for businesses with less than 50 employees. The law does want to incentivize small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees, so there are small business tax credits available under the new law. 

You can purchase health insurance directly from a carrier, from an agent, or from one of the new health insurance exchanges. TRUE.

57 percent of the public does not have enough information about how health care reform will work, with 67 percent of the uninsured being the most confused. In addition to questions about how to qualify for subsidy, there are questions about the health care plans that are best for the person that has no experience with health insurance. A person that has little experience with health insurance would be best served to talk to a health insurance agent that can help them understand health insurance plans, health insurance terms, represents multiple carriers and can help them file the necessary paperwork for subsidy. Health care reform is new, but health insurance is not, and health insurance agents have the most experience helping people with health insurance plans.