More than a month into the first open enrollment in the new Health Insurance Marketplaces, chances are you are as confused as ever about how the Affordable Care Act works and how it affects you. That’s the conclusion the Consumer Reports National Research Center drew from a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults taken Nov. 8 throiugh 10. Consumers can’t figure out which media reports, ads, or politicians are providing accurate information—which may explain why they don’t know much about the law even now.
That's especially unfortunate considering that anyone who needs new health insurance to start on Jan. 1, 2014, only has until Dec. 23 to get it.
Some particulars from the survey:
- 38 percent said they’d become less informed about the new law over the previous month, compared with 35 percent who felt they knew more it.
- The most often-cited sources of information about the new law were network and cable news, and the internet, followed closely by friends, family, and co-workers. Only 15 percent said they’d sought information from an insurance company.
- 90 percent chose at least one item from a list of sources of inaccurate information that cause them not to know what to believe about the law.
As a a result, many people people can’t separate real provisions of the law from fake ones. For instance, 36 percent believe it gives the government the ability to control the doctors you see. It doesn’t. Encouragingly though, 56 percent knew that the law ends the practice of denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and that it gives financial help to enable low- and moderate-income families to afford insurance.
Here’s the complete list of features we asked about (we’ve put the correct answers next to the questions):
| To the best of your knowledge, do you think each of the following statements about the law are true, false, or are you just not sure? |
|
TRUE |
FALSE |
NOT SURE |
The law establishes a government-run health insurance plan (FALSE) |
48% |
21% |
31% |
The law prohibits lifetime caps, or limits, on insurance coverage (TRUE) |
32% |
19% |
49% |
The law creates government panels that will make decisions about end-of-life care (FALSE) |
30% |
27% |
43% |
The law prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage to an individual because of their past and current health condition (TRUE) |
56% |
19% |
25% |
The law gives the government the ability to control the doctors you see (FALSE) |
36% |
24% |
30% |
The law creates tax credits for low and moderate income Americans who don’t have employer coverage to help purchase private health insurance (TRUE) |
56% |
13% |
31% |
If you are among the befuddled, a suggestions.
Our free interactive tool, HealthLawHelper.org, will give you personalized information on what, if anything, you need to do about the new law. For instance, if your plan is being discontinued at the end of the year, it will tell you whether you are likely to qualify for financial help with premiums or out-of-pocket costs, and it will also send you off to the correct state Health Insurance Market to buy your new plan.
Got a question for our health insurance expert? Ask it here; be sure to include the state you live in. And if you can't get enough health insurance news here, follow me on Twitter @NancyMetcalf.
Health reform countdown: We are doing an article a day on the new health care law until Jan. 1, 2014, when it takes full effect. (Read the previous posts in the series.) To get health insurance advice tailored to your situation, use our Health Law Helper, below.
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