PPACA and the Individual Market

There’s a lot of discussion in the media about how employers will react to PPACA in regards to providing employee coverage. Many predict that employers will stop providing employee coverage entirely, since most employees will be able to find affordable coverage through an exchange.

If most employers choose to drop their group health plan, their employees will flood into the individual insurance market. They will have to become more educated about their health coverage.  This means developing a true understanding of a plan’s benefits before purchasing it, and becoming more proactive in personal health.  

Seeking help from an agent or broker will only release some of the additional responsibility individuals will face in purchasing their own plan. Individuals will have to be engaged, amenable, and forthcoming in a process they may have no familiarity with. However, consulting an agent or broker will likely prevent them from choosing the wrong plan, thereby avoiding a medical and financial disaster down the road.