Affordable Care Act enrollment opens, community seeks information
Many Southwest Austin residents and businesses are researching the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," and how it will affect their health insurance coverage.
Information centers have been set up throughout Travis County to help educate the public about the legislation, which will require all U.S. residents to have health insurance beginning in 2014.
Local groups, such as the Oak Hill Business and Professional Association, have had experts speak to small-business owners about the law.
Although businesses offering health insurance and people already paying for their own insurance are not facing major changes, the debut of the ACA's subsidized insurance exchanges has some people and companies considering whether to sign up for insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Beginning in 2014, those individuals who choose to go without coverage will be charged a penalty, said Bob Bonar, president and CEO of Seton Healthcare.
"There are about 100,000 Travis County residents that do not have any health care insurance, and some of those live in Southwest Austin," he said. "So this should be an opportunity for them to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act ... and find out what might be available for them."
Community seeks details
Insure Central Texas, an initiative of local nonprofit Foundation Communities, began offering information about the ACA at its Stassney Lane community financial center when enrollment opened in October.
Southwest Austin resident Gary Allen was among those who met with a volunteer.
"I am here to try and get insurance for me and my son," he said.
The ACA presents some challenges, ICT volunteer Jim Clouser said.
"Most of the people coming in that don't have insurance are not all that certain how insurance works, and so [we're] trying to explain to them what a deductible is, what a copay is, how a premium is paid and calculated, and things of that nature," he said.
Variables, such as if a person smokes, also affect what insurance plans he or she qualifies for, ICT Director Elizabeth Colvin said.
"There are 80 plans to choose from. So you really just have to get someone's individual situation and determine what their cost will be," she said.
What's changing
In 2014, the annual penalty for foregoing health coverage will be $95 per adult, $47.50 per child, or 1 percent of a person's income, whichever is higher, according to www.healthcare.gov. The penalty increases annually for those who refuse insurance.
Employers are not required to offer coverage, but businesses with 50 or fewer full-time–equivalent employees can get coverage in the Small Business Health Options Program Marketplace. In 2015, some companies that do not offer coverage meeting minimum standards must comply with an Employer Shared Responsibility payment.
Colvin said insurance for individuals with pre-existing conditions can no longer be priced based on their health conditions.
Women are covered for maternity and charged the same price as men, she said.
Marketplace insurance plans also cover preventive care, said Jan Soifer, chairwoman of the Travis County Democratic Party.
"The idea is it's going to bring down the price of health care insurance for everyone it will make health care insurance affordable for a lot of small businesses that have never been able to afford it," Soifer said.
The Travis County Republican Party opposes the ACA. TCRP Communications Director Andy Hogue said the U.S. needs to return to a free market for health services.
"[The ACA is] already having a severe effect on Southwest Austin," he said. "Spousal benefits are being dropped. Emergency clinics are dotting the streets instead of more family physician offices. Insurance premiums are increasing. ... And this is just the beginning, unless we do something to defund Obamacare now."
Under the ACA, many individuals, including those with job-based insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program coverage are deemed by the federal government as covered.
Colvin said most people with job-based insurance don't have to worry, especially at large companies such as Freescale Semiconductor Inc. and AMD.
In conjunction with the ACA rollout, AMD is introducing a Healthy Lifestyle Credit for employees, Corporate Communications Director Michael Silverman said, explaining early detection of some chronic conditions could manage health care costs.
"Our benefits program already features much of what is in the new law; therefore, the impact to our employee benefits is quite minimal," he said in an email.
Smaller organizations are examining the ACA as well. Etta Sanders, executive director of Southwest Austin–based Tapestry Dance Company, said she hopes to share information about available ACA insurance plans with TDC's dancers, as injuries are common in the profession.
Personally, Sanders said the ACA helped her afford insurance for her 6-year-old.
"I think [the ACA] has got some issues that any huge government program is going to have when it first starts out, and I hope that people will give it a chance to work out its kinks to be able to provide for a lot of people who need it," she said.
