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The Affordable Care Act & You – What Do The Changes Mean?

Hello everyone!  I hope this check in finds everyone healthy and happy, and I hope everyone is having a great 2017 so far!

I’ve been getting some inquiries from several clients on what the recent House Bill that was just passed changing the Affordable Care Act means to you, so I thought it would be a good time to just touch base on all of this.  I’m closely monitoring the process of the legislation and what it means, but I think there are some general things to keep in mind.
First, I’ve often been asked for years on whether I think that the Affordable Care Act is “good” or “bad.”  My answer has always been that it depends on who you are.  It is good for some people and bad for others.  I have a lot of clients spanning everything from young and unhealthy, to older and healthy, from lower income, to higher income, and everywhere in between.  So I will always have clients that benefit from the changes that have been made and those that will not.  There will always be “winners” and “losers” from any changes, just like there are “winners” and “losers” from the Affordable Care Act compared to the marketplace before, and there will always be unintended consequences.  Whether any changes are good for YOU, we will figure out together.
Secondly, these are the early innings of a LONG process.  Currently the law is not passed and has many hurdles that it will have to clear before it becomes law.  This is kind of a lawmaking 101 refresher, but this legislation now moves to the Senate where a committee will need to write and pass legislation moving it to the floor – not really a quick process in and of itself.  Then the full Senate needs to debate and amend the legislation and get the required number of votes to pass it.  Right now, the Republicans can only lose 2 votes to pass any legislation.  You can bet there will be probably A LOT of Senators who have their own personal view on how the legislation should be different, and will likely be attaching their own little changes to the bill.  If they are able to get enough votes to pass it (which will be a long process as well), the legislation will likely fairly significantly differ from the House Bill that was passed.  THEN, a House and Senate committee needs to meet to reconcile the 2 different pieces of legislation which they may or may not come to agreement on.  THEN, the House needs to pass that legislation again (which barely passed the first time), and then the Senate does as well before it can move to the President to maybe sign and become law.  Any hurdle that it doesn’t pass along this path kills the entire bill.  So you get the picture.  We have a LONG way to go and there will be many changes along the way.
So I don’t believe it is worth trying to figure out what any legislation means to you at the present time.  We can only watch this process play out, and see what comes of it.  If we begin to get close to passage of any legislation, I will let you know what to reasonably expect on how plans and enrollments may change.  Keep in mind the ACA took over a full year to become law.  We are just into month 4 of the Trump Presidency.
Also, there will likely be an implementation period.  Just like with the ACA, it will likely take years to be fully implemented if and when it is law, and some insurance policies are likely to be grandfathered etc.  So there will be time for us to plan on any changes that are coming.
Right now, insurance companies are in the process of submitting their 2018 plans and rates to the state of Colorado.  In the summer, some preliminary info will be released.  We won’t see any full plans until October though.  So the normal process of business is continuing and any legislation is unlikely to have any significant effect on 2018 plans since for the most part, they are in the process of being completed already.  It’s possible one of the only effects legislation will have for this year or 2018 will be the repeal of the fine for not having health insurance.  We will see what happens.
So the long and short of it is, to not panic right now, continue to go about your lives, take care of yourselves mentally and physically, and we will deal with any challenges and changes as they come to us.  I will be here to update you if and when we get to the point of needing to be informed on anything significant that may affect you and your families.
I hope everyone has a great summer.  Have fun!