Health care survey garners boos

By Business Observer Staff
| 7:45 a.m. January 15, 2014
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

News

Some post-Affordable Care Act debut surveys have rolled out, and word from the business community isn't good.

The National Association for the Self-Employed, for one, found nearly 60% of respondents believe they have a “low” or “very low” chance to secure both affordable and comprehensive coverage in 2014.

“The truth is that the self-employed — who fall into the individual marketplace — are finding it increasingly difficult to not only navigate healtcare.gov, they do not believe they will be able to access affordable health care in 2014,” NASE Director of Government Affairs Katie Vlietstra says in a release. “This frustration is pushing many to look for alternative options for health care and our fear is that this number will grow.”

The survey, of nearly 500 small and micro-business owners nationwide, also reported the following nuggets:

Almost two-thirds, 60%, of the half of the respondents who visited healthcare.gov experienced technical issues or glitches with the website;

More than 30% of those who visited the website have decided to explore options outside the exchange;

Less than 10% of those who visited healthcare.gov reported they had successfully enrolled in a health insurance plan for 2014;

Nearly two out of 10, 17%, plan to forgo health insurance in 2014 due to costs.

That last point, people who will skip enrollment and instead face the penalty, has come up in other surveys. It was addressed in consulting firm Mercer's 2013 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Plans, for example. In that survey, released Nov. 20, the true winner was the dreaded uncertainty factor, much like it was in pre-ACA polls. The takeaway: Doubt lingers.

“There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to enrollment,” Mathew Snook, a Tampa-based partner for Mercer's Florida consulting practice says in a release regarding the survey. “A big question is how many employees will be motivated to enroll given the tax penalty for not obtaining coverage is relatively small. Other influential factors include the prevalence of other area employers dropping coverage altogether, causing an influx of dependents, and employers making changes to discourage or disallow their employees from enrolling spouses.”