I've been researching all of our new health insurance options here Texas (or the death of America / end of western civilization depending on your point of view) over the last couple of weeks. My family is currently covered through a COBRA plan that will expire in January and costs about $1100/mo. That is what it cost them while she worked there and what it costs us to keep it. It's a basic plan with a $3000 deductible that pays 70% with no dental or vision. Now, for $15 LESS per month we can buy a "platinum" plan on the exact same network from the exact same insurer with $0 deductible/80% with dental and vision. It also has lower copays for office visits and prescriptions. If we want a plan that has about the same type of coverage we have now it will be about $350 LESS per month than we currently pay. There are no subsidies involved.
Now that we have access to 76 different plans from 8 insurers, it's bewildering how anyone could defend the old, unregulated system. My wife's former employer and their employees would all be better off if they would drop their group coverage and give them that money to shop on the exchange. They would end up with either much better or much less expensive coverage. It won't take long for small businesses and their employees to realize this and when they do much of the media is likely to report it as THOUSANDS OF SMALL BUSINESSES DROPPING COVERAGE BECAUSE OF OBAMACARE. Ignoring the fact that dropping their coverage (and giving their employees the money) is the best thing that they could do for themselves, their employees and our healthcare industry as a whole.
So I say - drop the group coverage and bring on the death panels!
More below the gnocchi...
My wife and I are both self employed. She is an Architect and I work in a technical field. We certainly aren't one percenters but we are also a long way from qualifying for subsidies. My son and I are both "high risk" due to his asthma and my string of back injuries. Under the old, unregulated system the only way we could get health insurance was if my wife or I stuck it out at a job just for the insurance despite having much higher aspirations. So for years she stayed at another architecture firm rather than going into private practice.
I can't imagine that this situation is unique. How many people would like to leave a dead end job and start a business but can't because it would have cost them their insurance? I think that number is going to be a lot more than people realize.