How Will ObamaCare Mess Up My Life and Livelihood?

The Independent Women’s Voice organization has published a useful document called Your ObamaCare August Recess Guide - The Knowledge You Need, The Questions to Ask. It asks and provides some answers to these five questions:

• How will ObamaCare add to the national debt?
• Does ObamaCare violate my Constitutional rights?
• How will ObamaCare change my health care?
• How will ObamaCare change my Medicare?
• How can I help repeal ObamaCare?

The third question, “How will ObamaCare change my health care?” briefly describes how the law will affect your health insurance, your relationship with your doctor and coverage that may or may not be available from your employer. Here are a couple excepts:

• ObamaCare means the federal government will decide what kind of health care treatments must be covered by insurance. You will be required to carry an insurance policy that meets this “minimum essential coverage” requirement. If your current policy doesn't, you will have to switch. ObamaCare also includes many government mandates and regulations for the insurance market, which will decrease competition and make health insurance more expensive for everyone.

• ObamaCare will make health care benefits so expensive and burdensome that many employers will stop sponsoring health insurance. If your company has 50 or fewer workers, the law doesn't require your employer to pay for health insurance. Even at companies with 51+ workers, the penalty of $2,000 per year per worker will often be more affordable than health insurance. A recent survey of employers shows 30% of them are strongly considering dropping health insurance benefits for their workers.

Meanwhile in Michigan, the state Department of Community Health has been taking actions to prepare the ground for creation of a Michigan ObamaCare insurance benefit “exchange.” A department spokesperson told Michigan Capitol Confidential that Gov. Rick Snyder has not made a decision on whether to proceed with creating an exchange.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.