Sonoma Index-Tribune - Thompson touts Affordable Care Act

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, is gathering health and business experts to spread the word about the Affordable Care Act with a series of town hall-style meetings, beginning with an event in Santa Rosa last Friday for small businesses and nonprofits.

Not only is he seeking to inform residents of the Fifth District about the changes coming under the new health care legislation, he's hoping to dispel lingering myths that continue to confuse consumers.

“People like all of the pieces of it, but they don't like what they've been led to believe,” Thompson told the crowd of about 150.

He explained that a national poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation in March shows an approval rating of just 39 percent for the Affordable Care Act (ACA); but a majority of Americans support the largest components of the law, such as eliminating pre-existing conditions (66 percent approve), subsidies to allow individuals to purchase insurance (76 percent) and the creation of health care exchanges or marketplaces (80 percent). But ACA opponents, he said, have successfully confused many Americans about the realities of the law.

“Almost 40 percent of people polled still believe death panels are a part of the bill,” Thompson laughed, referring to the politicized term popularized by Sarah Palin in 2009, who falsely claimed that the law would create a bureaucratic panel to determine whether a severely ill individual could receive health care.

Thompson added that many Americans also believe the law will burden taxpayers, when in reality, he said, it will reduce federal deficit by $110 billion in the first 10 years.

“This law is already paid for,” he said.

Herb Schultz, regional director of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, added that consumers in general would pay less for health care under the new law. He said insurance rate hikes decreased from 75 percent in 2010, to 14 percent so far in 2013; and because insurance companies are now required to spend 80 percent of premium dollars directly on health care, $2.6 billion was returned to consumers in 2011 and 2012.

“This law is already saving people money,” he said.

Schultz focused most of his discussion on how the law would impact businesses, breaking down the plan's requirements based on the size of a business. He said businesses with fewer than 25 employees are not required to provide health insurance, but are eligible for tax credits if they take part in the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), operated by the state health care exchange, Covered California. The SHOP is a health-care marketplace where employers can view plans exclusively available for businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

“It's an apples-to-apples comparison on price, quality,” Schultz said, explaining that open enrollment for plans in the marketplace will run from Oct. 1 to March 1, 2014; but details of the health plans can be reviewed now at CoveredCa.com.

The SHOPs allow small businesses to pool resources for decreased health coverage rates, similar to the lower rates seen by large companies. Businesses with 25 to 49 employees are not required to offer health care, but would see better rates in the marketplace, Schultz said.

Beginning in 2015, businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to offer health insurance plans or will face fines, but only a limited number of businesses are likely to see penalties. Schultz said of the more than 6 million businesses in America, only 4 percent employ more than 50 people. And of those larger businesses, 94 percent of companies with 50 to 199 employees, and 98 percent of companies with more than 200 employees, already offer employee health coverage.

Third District Supervisor Shirlee Zane discussed the county's efforts to prepare for implementation of the Affordable Care Act. She said of the 70,000 uninsured residents of Sonoma County, 50,000 will be eligible for health care under ACA; and of those, 21,000 will qualify for tax credits to help them pay for coverage. She explained that a variety of state and federal grants will allow the county to fund health care navigators, who will work with community organizations, schools, churches and any other groups seeking more information and/or help enrolling new patients.

Mark Quinn, regional director of the Small Business Administration, praised Thompson's efforts to educate constituents on the new law, and said other legislators are not spending nearly as much time talking to residents and answering direct questions.

“No one else has had their congressional representative out in the community talking to businesses, like you have,” he said.

Thompson said he plans to host similar town hall meetings in September and October, to ensure residents of the Fifth District are prepared when the law goes into effect on Jan. 1.

“It's really important we get this right, I can't emphasize that enough,” he said of launching the new law.