Fact or Fiction? Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) Myths Debunked for Florida

Everyday, we all hear new information from the news, internet, and especially friends and family about the Affordable Care Act or Obama Care. How do you know what to believe?

Today, we will cover some of the most prominent information that people are hearing around the country, from employer sponsored group plans to the Florida tax implications.  It is important to always validate the information you hear, because the information will affect your decisions about health care.  You can always go to www.factcheck.org to validate any information that you hear from the news or friends and family.

Myth: 
Florida Employers will stop offering insurance to their workers when the law is implemented.

Fact:
Independent analysis conducted by the RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, the Congressional Budget Office and Mercer, have found that employers will continue to offer health coverage to their workers. Economists agree that employers offer health insurance to help attract and retain the most talented employees and employers will continue to seek out top talent. Further, when health reform was enacted in Massachusetts more than five years ago, the percent of businesses offering insurance in Massachusetts increased.

Myth: 
Health reform in Florida will lead to a government takeover of health care.

Fact:
One independent group actually called this myth the “lie of the year”. The Affordable Care Act puts people, not health insurance companies or government, in charge of health care. The new law strengthens the existing employer-based health insurance market while making the market fair for consumers by implementing landmark consumer protections. Families and individuals that don’t have access to affordable coverage can receive tax credits to help them purchase coverage in the private health insurance market. There is no government-sponsored, public, or “single payer” plan in the law.

Myth:
Health insurance reform in Florida will use your tax dollars to fund abortions.

Fact:
The health insurance reform legislation maintains the status quo of no federal funding for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the woman is endangered. A federal judge recently wrote "the express language of the [Affordable Care Act] does not provide for taxpayer funded abortion. That is a fact and it is clear on its face.”

Myth:
The Affordable Care Act will raise the cost of health care.

Fact:
The health policy experts and economists who have looked at this legislation have said we are pursuing every possible mechanism to reduce healthcare costs. The Congressional Budget Office found that health insurance reform will reduce the deficit by $210 billion in this decade and by more than $1 trillion over the following 10 years. And a family of four would save as much as $2,300 on their premiums in 2014 compared to what they would have paid without reform.

As you can see, it is important to always validate the information you hear on a day to day basis.  Remember to check the information you hear at www.FactCheck.org or give Healthy Florida a call at (877) 337-4168 -or- chat with them live at www.HealthyFlorida.com

Reference:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/myths-and-facts#healthcare-menu

Contact Information

Walter Colpitts

President

Healthy Florida

(1) (561) 214-4600

bill@healthyflorida.com