Owner Operators And Obamacare
Obamacare has survived another test in the Senate last week and will continue to provide millions with access to health insurance. In the world of owner operators, we’ve seen the results have been mixed. It’s actually been that way since Obamacare was first voted on 5 years ago, seems like everyone has an opinion. So, why not give my own? What does Obamacare mean to owner operators and millions of America?
Health Insurance For Truck Drivers
If you were a truck driver or owner operator before Obamacare, you likely had your opportunities for health insurance. If you were fortunate, you were single. Health insurance for singles is cheaper, right? Common sense and the law of the land, but even so, health insurance wasn’t cheap. Upward of $500 or more would give you some basic coverage. I knew a few owner operators that were no married nor with kids paying close to $1,000 a month.
Before Obamacare, health insurance was outrageous. It wasn’t like the type of coverage we had back in the 1980s and 1990s, remember those days? The turn of the new century brought in a lot of changes and health insurance cost was one of them. 30 years ago, you could get 90/10 coverage for the entire family for a few hundred dollars. Today, you’d pay thousands for the same insurance.
Affordable Insurance For Drivers
Sure, trucking companies were offering health insurance to drivers, but you don’t have that luxury as an owner operator. If you were an owner operator, you had to get you health insurance by other means. A few decades ago, insurance was affordable. We must of seen some real medical breakthroughs from 2000 on as health insurance premiums have increased greatly.
Insurance providers brought in the bacon over the decade, likely far more than any other decade or same time span. They can blame rising cost and inflation all they want, I don’t buy it. Fraud is what makes the healthcare industry so expensive. Insurance scams as well. Double billing patients, hidden cost, and for decades they were able to get away with it.
What Obamacare Means For All
I come from a good neighborhood of working men and women that have put in the 9-5 for decades to support their families. Blue collar men and women that have risked their own health so their family would be covered. Some are no longer here, others carry and have never complained once. Their bodies are just programmed to work.
Obamacare means affordable insurance coverage for everyone. We all have the right to affordable health insurance and Obamacare delivers. Is the system perfect? Not at all, but tell me one that is. Millions of Americans from all walks of life have the ability to get covered and rightfully so. While it still cost money to get insured, it’s a lot cheaper now than what you would have had to pay out of pocket elsewhere.
For Those Who Lost Insurance Coverage
All of us was told that if we wanted to stay with our current health insurance provider, we could. We were told that we wouldn’t lose that health coverage. That’s what Obama told us many times before. However, we soon found that this was far from the truth. Millions of Americans lost their insurance coverage due to Obamacare.
Out of all the mistakes that the Obama Administration made, this one was huge. While there’s a lot of great things that Obamacare brought, this had a big impact on millions, many of them working Americans. At the very least, many people that could never afford to get health insurance or didn’t qualify now have that opportunity to do so. But tell that to someone who lost great coverage, can’t say I blame them for being mad. They were lied to, bottom line.
Obamacare And Owner Operators
I knew several owner operators that were never able to get health insurance coverage prior to Obamacare. Now, they have that opportunity. We have a lot of expenses as owner operators. I’m able to cover my family now with the same health coverage at half the cost. I know some owner operators that were covered now save money.
Sure, the system has faults. There’s a lot that needs fixed but the system is getting better. While Obamacare is good for owner operators, other truck drivers aren’t buying in. According to polls, only 35 percent of America favor Obamacare. We still have a long road ahead before the system works, I just hope they get to near perfection because there’s still a lot that needs done.
Be sure to check out our continuous coverage on Obamacare. Feel free to weigh in and let us know what you think.
The ACA Obamacare Part One
The ACA Obamacare Part Two
The ACA Obamacare Part Three
The ACA Obamacare Part Four
The ACA Obamacare Part Five
