Three months before uninsured people can start shopping for coverage, some big unknowns loom over President Obama’s health-care overhaul.
The surprise announcement this past week that the White House is delaying a requirement that many employers offer coverage raised questions about other major parts of the expansion of society’s safety net.
One delay may not matter much in the end. People will judge the law on three main points: premiums, choice and the overall consumer experience.
Only partial answers can be gleaned now, and they don’t necessarily fall along predictable lines.
The rollout might go well in mostly Democratic states that prepared, while it clatters and clunks in mainly Republican ones that resisted Obama’s law. Millions of poor people will be denied coverage next year because they live in states that are refusing the law’s Medicaid expansion. But most workers now covered at work shouldn’t see major changes.
A closer look at the three big questions:
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If you’d like to discuss employment or health care law, contact David Weissman, dweissman@roselawgroup.com