While the majority of people with health health insurance are covered thanks to the employee benefits they're offered by their workplace, the same can't be said for those who are jobless, often going several months without a plan in place. This poses a problem for individuals with pre-existing conditions.
However, despite these health issues and the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act that requires them to purchase a plan, nearly 70 percent of uninsured individuals say they still haven't made up their mind about buying a plan when the health reform law goes fully into effect next year, a new poll indicates.
According to the survey, which was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 68 percent of respondents with pre-existing conditions and without coverage stated that they weren't certain they would buy a plan in 2014. Additionally, only 18 percent said they "definitely" were going to buy a health policy.
The poll also found that the overwhelming majority of respondents believed that consumers – as a general rule – weren't aware of all the components of the health reform law. Approximately 85 percent said that individuals were uninformed about the ACA and how it would affect them in the long run.
Some questions in the survey may suggest these assumptions are accurate. Approximately 40 percent of respondents said that they didn't know if the insurance marketplaces that states are required to set up would sell other insurance offerings besides health coverage.
While the individual mandate doesn't kick in until January 2014, the open enrollment period for state exchanges starts in October. Roughly 27 states have informed the government that they will not operate their own marketplace. In these states, federal health officials will establish them instead.
