The Affordable Health Care law, better known as Obamacare, will require everyone in America to have health care coverage or be faced with a fine by Jan. 1, 2014. The enrollment process for Obamacare will be provided on Oct. 2 until Mar. 31, 2014.
Kathy Maloney, Director of Health Services, said that 80 to 85 percent of the student population has health insurance through their parents or employment so this law will only affect “15 to 20 percent of the student population tops.”
Maloney said having access to health insurance is important for many reasons. According to Maloney, it allows access to care without paying out of pocket. “Young adults never think they are going to get sick. They are at that age and stuff happens and it can be catastrophic and it can quickly bankrupt you.”
Mary Anne Nagy, Vice President of Student and Community Services, said that healthier students lead to an overall better college experience. “The healthier students are and the healthier they stay, they are more likely to be successful in the classroom and anything else they do and if they are sick and can’t afford to pay out of pocket because they don’t have insurance, it forces them to miss class or miss work or involvement because they are sick; it’s not good.”
Nagy continued, “Whereas, if they are healthy, they can go to class, get their work done, do internships, and get involved, which is important for them being successful.”
According to the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services, some of the benefits of Obamacare to students are that it does not allow health insurance companies to limit or deny coverage based on a pre-existing condition, it must cover preventative measures with no co-pay and allows young adults to remain on their parents’ health care coverage until they are 26-years-old.
The Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services also points out that 41 million people are eligible yet uninsured, there are 17.8 million 18-35 years old uninsured. In that group, 58 percent are male, 26 percent are Latino and 18 percent are African American.
Dan Roman, junior political science major, believes that Obamacare will help students and young adults greatly. “By putting young healthy people into exchanges, many companies will want to be able to provide them insurance, since kids will most likely not get sick (saving the insurance companies money). And because companies will compete with each other to provide for those kids, the price of the insurance will go down exponentially,” said Roman.
Michael Hamilton, senior political science major, believes that there is a huge age gap between those who think Obamacare is a good idea and those who do not. He said, “If anything i believe Obamacare will fail but that’s not a bad thing because it will now create an existing system that can adapt to a more socialist system of healthcare.”
He continued, “In my opinion this is what [Chief Justice] Roberts saw in adapting the penalty as a tax. If that precedent is set to tax for not buying healthcare then legislation for a system where instead of buying insurance it is a tax provided by the government could be possible. There are definitely downsides to having a socialized healthcare system, but i think that it will become more accepted eventually.
Michael Rosas, senior communication major, said, “An investment in our health insurance for the young may be a good one. Healthier people may bring costs down. We’ve seen time and time again the failure of austerity in many countries and when it comes to the health of our people, we shouldn’t try to short change it but find solutions that doesn’t only charge our debt but also help us financially and physically.
Melissa Burro, an alumnus of the University who works as an investigator for the state on insurance regulations sees flaws with Obamacare. “Premiums are going to be painfully high and it won’t be easy to qualify for the tax credits. Students will have to stay on their parents’ plan if possible, purchase only a catastrophe plan or just take the penalty and not have insurance.”
Maloney said that the University is dealing with student insurance coverage different this school year due to a bill passed in the New Jersey in July 2013. According to Maloney, Governor Christie and the New Jersey Legislature lifted the requirement for all undergraduate students to have health insurance in the state of New Jersey. Most schools were given exceptions until the next academic year but Georgian Court University and Monmouth decided to go along with the Governor’s plan this academic year. Maloney said the problem with this law was the time it was passed. “By July, universities and colleges have arranged contracts with insurance companies and have begun enrolling students so the schools are essentially trapped for this academic year.”
The University, according to Maloney, now offers students a choice when it comes to health insurance. There is still University sponsored insurance through AIG, according to Maloney but by January 1, “Everyone will have coverage through the federal government anyway.” The University is required to make sure two groups of students are covered and that is intercollegiate athletes and international students.
The University’s plan through AIG is very “affordable and is a good plan,” said Maloney. The plan has a maximum cap of half a million dollars for coverage with premiums being $1,373 a year. Broken into monthly payments, Maloney describes it as, “not bad.” Maloney reminds students that the last day to enroll in the University sponsored health insurance is Oct. 2.
For those who decide to go without health insurance, there will be a tax penalty of $95 or 1 percent of a person’s annual income, which will increase each year.
Maloney warns those who decide to go without health insurance. “That’s your choice but realize the risks that are involved. This includes office visits, medication and emergency visits all of which can put you into debt,” she said.
Maloney points out that there is a 24 hour window between when the federal exchange options are available for viewing and when the University’s health insurance plan enrollment expires for the year. The federal exchange becomes available Oct. 2 and the University’s health insurance plan enrollment expires Oct. 1.
Maloney believes this will not change the services provided by the Health Center. “We dealt with people without health insurance… we do as much as we can here and when we have to get assistance from other areas, we try and find a low cost opportunity,” said Maloney.
The health care system developed under Obamacare does multiple things according to Maloney. “This plan gives the lower class health insurance, which there will be subsidized plans and access by expansion of Medicare. However, the middle class may be stretched.” Maloney explains that, according to Obamacare, full time employment is 30 hours, which is making small business employers cut hours so they can avoid paying for health insurance so now they are paying for health insurance with less revenue.
“It is a great ideal for everyone to have health insurance. I understand the politically why they are doing it; I question why do this now during a period in our history while we are still in a recessionary period,” said Maloney.
There are certain hidden costs, according to Maloney. For preventative care, there are certain procedures that have an age requirement to qualify for the no co-pay and reimbursement program offered. If you do not meet the age requirement, it will be an out of pocket expense, according to Maloney.
“The goal of Obamacare is to give access to health care. In order to reduce health care expenditures, the way they are trying to push preventative care to treat those with chronic conditions,” said Maloney.
“The expectation of Obamacare is that college students will purchase the premiums with less utilization therefore supporting others who will use it,” said Maloney.
Maloney said that the object of Obamacare is, “If you make it accessible and affordable, people will go get care earlier.”
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