Wait Just a Minute: the Affordable Care Act May Work

The withering criticism of the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") has led many to believe that it is a disaster, that it will never work, etc...  If you only watch conservative television or listen to conservative talk radio and politicians then you might be convinced of this "fact".  Best to hang on for a moment.

One of the criticisms is that "nobody is signing up" as often-reported on Fox News which is omnipresent in the YMCA where I work out.  Early in the enrollment process there were daily reports of "single digit" enrollments in some states.  This was due to the HHS software being as bad at reporting as it was at enrolling.

The software bugs are being fixed and enrollments are happening, and this week no more conservative voice than The Washington Post reports that HHS may actually meet their first enrollment goal of 7 million enrollees for 2014.  If that target is attained, given the large amount of negative publicity, the daily rants from conservative media, the software debacle and a Republican campaign last fall to discourage enrollment by uninsured Americans, it will be a significant accomplishment.

Personally I have seen two anecdotal situations that affirm this forward momentum.  I have a family member who was unable to afford coverage for himself and his wife because of her preexisting conditions.  Last month they secured subsidized coverage for the two of them for $120/month.  The first month of Exchange enrollment I had a friend, a small-market realtor, who looked on line and complained to me that single coverage for her would be over $600/month.  After working through the repaired website and getting to the subsidy calculations, she secured free coverage for a bronze plan.

Time will tell what full implementation of the ACA brings.  Right now it is still a political football with supporters looking past every flaw and detractors ignoring every success.  Looking at it impartially (although I am on record as supporting universal, non-employer-sponsored coverage) the program has a fighting chance to overcome Kathleen Sebelius' incompetence and the Republican opposition machine.  It will certainly have unintended consequences: all changes of this magnitude do. The ultimate question will be 2-3 years down the road when we attain full implementation, see the consequences both intended and unintended, and judge for ourselves if this was or was not a societal step forward.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On-Line Streamlining

On Friday of this week I will shut down both my Facebook and Twitter accounts. In place of communicating via those outlets I intend to be a more consistent and diligent blogger. There are several reasons for this move which I will explain just briefly. I usually check all these accounts after dinner. That process entails checking Nelson email, personal email, Twitter updates (both reading and writing), looking at who added or dropped me on Twitter, checking Facebook updates from my "friends", and leaving comments. I could set up a link that combines Facebook and Twitter updates into one process, but that only saves a few moments of what takes about 45 - 60 minutes. My other personal interests, be they gardening or guitar or a few home improvement projects slated for the spring, suffer from the time taken up with living in the on-line world. Every so often my wife would like for me to just sit down and watch TV with her and I rarely ever do. After slacking off for the winte...
Read more

Employer Response to Feb 17 General Strike

If you are an employer and have employees participating in today's called General Strike here are a few tips.  The demands of the General Strike are not employment related: they are political and are not about to your workplace's specific terms and conditions of employment.  As such this is not subject to the "no strike" clause of your collective bargaining agreement (if you have one), and is not a non-union "wildcat strike".  As such it is not NLRB protected concerted activity in my opinion. You can take corrective action in accordance with your policies. But be careful: this "is" protected First Amendment speech so terminating for absences related to this event could prove problematic.  Still you probably don't want people walking off the job without consequences and/or disrupting your workplace. Here is what you can do.  Insist that the strikers leave your premises, not block your entrances and exits, and not disrupt your business. You c...
Read more

Managing Through the Micromanaging Myth

It is the ultimate derogatory comment among the 20-somethings in your workforce. It has replaced race and gender slurs as the lowest form of workplace insult. To be labeled a micro-manager carries with it a level of disdain somewhere just above sexual harasser. It is also largely a myth and an excuse wielded by some on your staff who lack the experience to know mentoring from meddling. That so many middle managers (and higher) buy into this corporate urban myth is disappointing; but it will one day go the way of all other ill-conceived management fads. Let me go out on a limb here and call out that labelling your supervisor as a micro-manager is a handy tool to escape supervision and accountability and that buying into it as a supervisor cheats your new hires out of needed coaching. The theory of the micro-manager is simple; close supervision is equal to a lack of confidence in the person you supervise and is therefore poor leadership. Moreover, if you've selected someone for your ...
Read more