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While some entrepreneurs hold their breath, waiting for Obama care insurance exchanges to kick in, others are taking a renegade attitude for their healthcare needs of the future. A true entrepreneur will not wait for a new program that has no track record, no forecast on how it will succeed, or any proof of funding for a growing society. Health care is a big deal to any business owner that works within a tight budget, and now is the time to weigh the facts about what your medical insurance plans are, before January 2014.
Speculation is for Dreamers
If you are speculating that insurance costs will decrease in the future, dream on. The fact is, no one knows for certain, just how strong, or how weak, the insurance pool is going to be. Young people are being gambled on, to provide a large portion of the insurance policy premiums, but this could turn out to be fiction. One healthy, 24-year old resident from Miami, has already decided that a $100 penalty is cheaper than the $3000 yearly premium that it would cost him, from having two part-time jobs, and medical insurance.
The Check's in the Mail
Many individual insurance policy holders have been pleasantly surprised to find a check from their insurance company in their mailbox, recently. While this is fine and dandy, these insurance companies are the same ones that are going to be offering plans in the future. Ask yourself, if you were forced, by the government, to release millions of dollars to your customers, would you not devise a way to recoup your loss?
In addition to being monitored on the 80/20 method, insuring anyone with pre-existing conditions, and providing this list of essential health benefits:
- Ambulance service
- Prescription drugs
- Emergency room care
- Mental health and substance abuse programs
- Maternity and newborn care
- Pediatric services
- Laboratory testing
- Rehabilitative devices and services
- Chronic disease management
- Wellness services
This is a very tall order for any insurance company, hoping to stay in business and dependent on the younger generation to foot the bill.
Drop Dead Bottom Line for Small Business
96% of all businesses in the United States, have less than 50 employees. If a small business has full-time employees, chances are that these employees will stay covered under an existing medical plan. However, all the rules have changed. Depending on how healthy or sick, your state's statistics are for premiums, versus medical expenses, the buck stops here. As a small employer, you may have been generous, in the past, by paying 50% of your total insurance premiums of $7,000, per employee, per year, but what happens if that amount suddenly doubles? Could you afford to be quite as generous?
The federal government has taken care of this loop hole, also. Small businesses will be allowed to pass on, up to 9.5% of an employee's gross income, to compensate for the difference, should an increase be needed. Employees could go from paying $130 per month for their part of the coverage, to over $240 per month, plus leaving the employer with an increase of $11,000 per employee, per year. No winning numbers here, only the facts.
Entrepreneurs Who Go it Alone
If you are a new entrepreneur that is fresh, excited and bursting at the seams to make your first million, the Affordable Healthcare Act, could be a good deal for you. Individuals that are not under the protection of an employer, look to gain the most benefits, at a low cost. However, as your company begins to grow, you may want to add an assistant, hire part-time people, or increase your own pay. This is when your healthcare could get dicey. The more you are able to expand, the more you will be expected to contribute to the healthcare system.
If you are trying to decide which way you should go with Obama care, you are not alone. Wading into uncharted territory can be scary enough when you have a small business, but trying to sift through the facts and fiction of a government program, that is planning on using you as a guinea pig, can be terrifying. Instead of waiting for the inevitable, begin researching different options for your future. These can include beginning a Health Savings Account, researching foreign medical care, switching to natuopathic medicine, or joining self-insured, not-for-profit insurance communities, like Medi-Share.
Our nation is about to change, and no one knows what the future holds for health care. It is totally fictional to believe that a new system will benefit everyone that needs healthcare. If you could stop the world for the next ten years, and allow all the bugs to get worked out of a new healthcare program, the percentage of acceptance and success, would be much higher than it currently is. But, with turmoil in the Middle East, and an economy that favors minimum wage and part-time workers to full-time, educated individuals, believing that government run health care will improve the climate of the nation, is no more than a pipe dream.
Have a plan for your future of health care, set it into action, and expect the worst. That way, if everything comes off without so much as a hiccup, you will be pleasantly surprised, and way ahead of the game.