Healthcare has been a major topic of discussion lately, especially in political views. Many people think is should be free in the U.S. while others think we should pay for it. In 2015, there were 8.6 million people that enrolled for healthcare benefits from the Federal Government.

Between the dates of November 1, 2015 and January 31, 2016, anyone can go online or to a healthcare broker and change to a new health plan through the federal healthcare marketplace.

Federal Healthcare System

“In Virginia, nearly 400,000 people so far have signed up for federal healthcare benefits during the current enrollment period. It’s a far cry from states like Florida which had 1.5 million people, or Texas with 1.1 million, according to government statistics.”

The new Federal Healthcare Mandate which is also known as Obamacare has made many changes to the way U.S. residents get medical insurance.

Small Businesses

The Federal Healthcare Mandate makes changes for small businesses. In order for small businesses to give healthcare benefits to their employees they have to navigate a lot of paperwork and processing. Each employee will have at least 30 forms to receive their medical insurance benefits. All of the forms are becoming a problem for the business owners. “The really important thing is to become very, very friendly to your accountant,” said Diana Paguaga, a healthcare broker. “There are too many forms to fill out, and without your accountant, you won’t make it.”

Paguaga spoke as part of a panel for helping small businesses understand the federal healthcare system at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center devised by the Prince William Chamber of Commerce. There were a lot of small business owners there trying to comprehend the new system.

“There are tax credits and special incentives for those whose income falls below the poverty rate. Through the online marketplace and, and SHOP healthcare portal for businesses, there are more than 40 plans to chose from in Prince William County alone, said Deepak Mapala, program manager for Enroll VA.”

There are also penalties to those who do not choose to purchase a plan. Some of the fines are $700 if an employee does not have insurance. But also people can be exempt from penalties if they were only insured for a short amount of time.

The benefits provided by the new healthcare will help with the cost of procedures, but they do not stop the rising cost of prescription medications. “About 1% of the total U.S. population is contributing to higher prescription drug costs. DeGruttola said drugs like Harvoni, a Hepatitis-C
treatment approved in November is one of the specialty medicines driving up the cost of prescription drugs.The cost of prescription medications has risen 20% over the past year, he added.”

There is still more progress to be made in the healthcare system, maybe 2016 will bring new changes.