#2 is a big issue because insurance companies love to deny pre-existing conditions. I believe there is some time-limit to them doing so, like after being on the plan for 6 or 9 months they start covering, but don't quote me on that. The idea that having a pre-existing condition can screw you pretty severely if you have to switch insurance ilproviders is crazy to me, especially since insurance is so tied to employer in the US. I realize insurance prefers healthy people to subsidize the sick, but once someone is diagnosed, "punishing" them for being sick, everytime they change insurance is just crazy to me. I guess I am too much of a socialist to see how that is a good societal move.
#2 is irrelevant in MA. MA already has Obama/Romneycare.
I.e., they already have the ability to force an insurance company (more precisely, other people who purchase insurance) to subsidize their care with or without an employer.
#2 is irrelevant in MA. MA already has Obama/Romneycare.
It's not quite that simple. One, the plans offered through the MA Connector may not be as inexpensive as plans negotiated by an employer, so you may wind up paying more for the same coverage. There's alao the issue of finding a plan with doctors in the same network, you may find yourself paying a little more if you have a favorite doctor treating you for a pre-existing condition.
Also, you are only allowed to enroll in MA Connector plans during one (maybe two) "open enrollment" periods during the year, so you may be faced with a gap between losing insurance coverage after quiting a job before being able to enroll in a new plan. Of course there is always COBRA, but again the amount you pay out-of-pocket for the premiums go way up.
But you are correct that insurance co's in MA generally can't reject you for pre-existing conditions.
There is no gap because COBRA covers you (costs go up precisely 1%) until the next open enrollment. As for "open enrollment", this just means you need to start your business in July.
Anechoic is right - anyone claiming they can't start a business in MA due to employer sponsored healthcare is just making excuses.
See also "I'm a fatass because I don't have time to exercise", "I have no girlfriend because all the girls I don't ask out would say no anway", "I'm underpaid because all other companies would pay me the same, not that I actually interviewed."
When I was on COBRA, my out-of-pocket costs went up significantly more than 1% (compared to what I was paying for the same policy when I was employed).
Anechoic is right - anyone claiming they can't start a business in MA due to employer sponsored healthcare is just making excuses.
Your out of pocket costs may have gone up, but that's an arbitrary distinction. The total cost of cobra is precisely 101% of the cost of health insurance provided to your employer.
Now, it's possible your employer was giving you $Z worth of benefits but making you deduct $Y from your wages for it, and $Z > $Y. All this means is that your comp (and hence the opportunity cost of starting a business) was higher than you realized.
Sure, I was speaking more generally than just to the people the parent knows in MA. If that becomes nationwide under Obamacare then good. By your phrasing ("force..other people who purchase insurance..to subsidize their care with or without an employer") it seems you are opposed to that idea (sorry if I presume incorrectly). If so is the idea seriously that if you get diagnosed with a serious medical condition then no one should subsidize care and you should basically be driven into bankruptcy or death due to lack of medical treatment? Perhaps this is an issue I am too close to since I am currently seeing an endocrinologist and just had a brain MRI, but prior to that (and likely still) I would say the insurance companies cleaned up on me / I subsidized a lot of other people since I have rarely had any medical conditions / costs for the entire time I have had medical insurance. But that doesn't bother me, so I guess the idea that insurance being a pool to subsidize / provide a safety net in an organized society regardless of employment somehow being portrayed as a bad thing is something I am having trouble wrapping my mind around.
