Winston Countians Learn More About Ms. Health Care Exchange and ObamaCare

Winston Countians learn about new health care law

A crowd of roughly 50 people attended a program presented by a representative from the Mississippi State Insurance Commissioner's Office concerning health care law changes on Monday night (Aug 6). Drew Weiskopf from the Life and Health Division of the Mississippi Insurance Department spoke of Mississippi's required role in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called ObamaCare. The recent Supreme Court decision that ruled the act to be constitutional means that implementation will continue. 

The State of Mississippi must establish a "Health Insurance Exchange" which will allow for one stop shopping for health insurance within the state.  If the state chooses not to establish such an exchange, the federal government will do so for the state and limit any state control. This exchange must be in place by 1/1/2014. 

Mississippi has already established a preliminary exchange and website: http://onemississippi.com. The exchange is setup for individuals and small businesses with less than 100 employees who wish to purchase insurance for their employees. Another option for small employers includes the ability to subsidize employees insurance coverage without actually providing the coverage. This would provide some tax breaks for employers.

There were considerable questions from the crowd concerning cost of the program and required coverage.  Under the plan, insurance would basically be "one size fits all" as all plans require a basic minimum coverage even for services that may not required such as maternity and pediatric care. State Senator Giles Ward asked, "How large of an expansion of state government does this force us to create to administer PPACA?" Weiskopf indicated that to this date, four employees had been added to staff but future requirements were not known at this time. Several questions centered around income requirements and asset and wealth inclusion. Weiskopf indicated that unfortunately, many decisions and definitions that will affect the healthcare law have yet to be determined at the federal level.

Here is some basic information:

•  In 2013, medicare tax will increase for higher wage earners, ($250,000 joint, $125000 single filer)
• A state health exchange must be up and running by 1/1/2014 or the federal government will create their own exchange for that state.
• With some exceptions, all individuals must obtain minimum health coverage by 2014 or incur an annual penalty of $95 or 1% of their income. Exceptions include religious/residency and some affordability issues.
• Employers with 50 employees or more must offer "affordable coverage" by 2014 that meet certain requirements or face financial penalties.