USA Today interviewed Manatt's Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health Solutions, on what people think of their new healthcare coverage, now that the first open-enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act has ended.
USA Today reports that researchers will watch to see if people take advantage of preventive pieces, such as free annual exams, that were built into the law; whether they will learn how to shop for prices if they are in high-deductible plans; and whether they will learn to avoid the emergency room in favor of a primary-care doctor's office.
"I think there will be a lot of people very happy and satisfied with what they have," said Ario. "But there may be those who say, 'Nobody told me about the deductible on the bronze plan.' People are going to say the cost-savings measures are too high, particularly around some of the drug plans."
Ario and others who helped create and implement the law said they knew it was a move toward consumers having "more skin in the game," because they will have to weigh the costs and benefits of medical procedures.
"For people who think the ACA takes care of everything for you, you'll find it's more like 20 years ago, where it takes care of the serious things," Ario said. "But they're not going to go bankrupt anymore. It's far better to owe $5,000 in the deductible than have a bill from the hospital saying you owe $100,000 or more."
Read the article here.