Expert: Obamacare will drive up health insurance premiums [Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.]

Oct. 27--Come Jan. 1 when thousands of Americans who don't have health insurance will be covered under the Affordable Care Act, many of the rest of us will see our premiums rise, a local insurance expert said.

"Insurance companies are taking more risk; you are taking less risk," local insurance agent David Ernstam told a Friday morning gathering in Marysville. "What happens? Higher premiums."

Ernstam was the keynote speaker during a Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Yuba County Government Center. Certified to sell Affordable Care Act insurance, Ernstam also earlier served on the panel during three Yuba County town halls on health care reform.

Open enrollment is underway through March 31 for the Affordable Care Act, also know as Obamacare, in which those without health insurance coverage are required to be covered. To be covered on Jan. 1, people must be enrolled by Dec. 15.

Ernstram said it will also result in higher premiums because of lower deductibles and the requirement to accept patients with pre-existing medical conditions. Also driving up costs, he said, is a requirement that cuts from 90 days to 60 the number of days coverage kicks in for new employees.

Open enrollment has been far from smooth over the first three-plus weeks with well-publicized problems with the national website and early glitches at the state level. The 381,517-word act approved by Congress without being refined in committee has itself also created a lot of confusion, Ernstam said.

"This law is confusing because some of it doesn't make sense," he said.

One of those aspects that don't make sense, Ernstam said, is the so-called "family glitch" that affects the uninsured dependents of employees who are covered by their employers. Those dependents won't be covered by the Affordable Care Act unless the beneficiary pays more than 9.5 percent of his or her income on insurance.

Most in this area won't meet the 9.5 percent threshold, Ernstam said, and those uninsured dependents won't be eligible for health reform coverage.

"If you fall into that, this plan has nothing for you," Ernstam said.

However, he said, the act will benefit those who are self-employed.

"There will be no more medical questions and no more pre-existing conditions," Ernstam said.

Those who aren't affected are frequently the ones who are most concerned about its impacts. During the Yuba County town halls, a good percentage of audience members were senior citizens worried about Medicare coverage.

"People who are on Medicare usually fill the room," Ernstam told the early-morning gathering. "But it doesn't affect them. If you are on Medicare, you could have slept in."

CONTACT reporter Eric Vodden at 749-4769.

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