While supporters of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act believe that the health reform law will not only reduce costs but make the purchase process simpler to navigate, the average American is skeptical.
The survey, which was performed by health insurance information firm HealthPocket, found that more than half of respondents said that they expect the ACA to make buying health insurance more complicated than it already is.
As noted by the Sunnvale, Calif.-based coverage plan website, starting on Oct. 1, Americans will have the opportunity to purchase coverage through the insurance marketplaces that are opening at the state level, provided they no longer want to take advantage of their employee benefits. For those who want to see if they qualify for financial assistance to pay for their premiums, they will have to substantiate various pieces of information that indicate whether they are eligible, such as how much they make each year and what their annual expenses are.
"Consumers understand that health insurance exchanges are new and while they haven't yet experienced how an exchange works, their expectation is that this process will be a complicated one that resembles navigating a maze," said Bruce Telkamp, CEO of HealthPocket. "The very good news for the administration and state exchanges is that low expectations can be exceeded by a positive experience during this important introduction of the heart of Obamacare."
One of the main components of the ACA is that it requires people who don't have health insurance to purchase it. A recent report released by the U.S. Census Bureau looks at the country's 3,140 counties, showing the approximate number of people within these regions that have coverage as well as those that don't over the past few years.
"The data can be used to assess annual changes in health insurance coverage from 2008 through 2011," according to the Census.
