Rider: Jake Baumert | Photo: Deanna Baumert | RedBud Pro National 2014

There are a lot of things that we have learned about the Affordable Care Act [ACA/Obamacare] over the last 6 years, and the U.S. health insurance market will now change again due to the November 8th, 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.  Here are my quick thoughts on the subject: 1) some of the important things that affect riders and racers relating to health insurance 2) and where healthcare is headed under the administration of President Donald J. Trump.

THE PROS:

  • Before the ACA [Obamacare], if you had a pre-existing medical condition you could be declined insurance or rated up drastically; this was a huge problem for riders and racers who have had injuries in the past when applying for new insurance, so this was a positive factor.
  • If you have a life-threatening emergency, you are not supposed to be penalized for being out-of-network.  [However, many patients are having issues with out of state hospitalizations, and some of the independent specialist billing out of network.]
  • Policy max benefit dollar amounts were taken away.  Some policies had $2,000,000 caps. For example, once you have met that amount your insurance stops.  Not good for catastrophic injuries.
  • If your income is low enough, combined with a few other factors, you can get part or all of your insurance subsidized by applying for coverage on the Federal or State-based Health Care Marketplace Exchange.

THE CONS:

  • There are still exclusions with certain insurance companies nationwide that exclude riding, racing, high-risk activities, and occupations in their fine print.
  • Insurance companies are pulling out of the health insurance market for 2017, making it more difficult for riders and racers to find plans that will cover them.
  • Premiums are continuing to increase at a record pace for the majority of the states, making the Affordable Care Act unaffordable for most non-subsidy [Obama-bucks] recipients.
  • Insurance networks have been reduced dramatically, reducing your freedom of choice for care.  This is causing huge problems for riders and racers that train in multiple states like California, Florida, and Georgia.
  • Initial out of pocket cost has increased due to the higher deductibles and higher out of pocket cost.

We are not going to see any immediate changes for the 2017 open enrollment. So, it is still important to get your new health care quotes and applications submitted by December 15th for a January 1st effective date.  It is also important that you make sure your new plan doesn’t have exclusions for racing and riding.  Use our Simple Insurance Guide For Riding And Racing to make sure you get a plan for 2017 that will cover you while you ride!

RELATED: Simple Insurance Guide For Riding And Racing

THE FUTURE:

The future vision of healthcare under Donald J. Trump has been outlined here https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/health-care/  Below are a few things that is important to mention that will help riders and racers:

  • Remove regulations in order to allow insurance sales across state lines.  This will allow you the opportunity to choose the plan you want from the companies that will insure riders and racers nationwide.
  • Remove the individual mandate that will help make the process less complicated which will give you more time to ride!
  • Allow individuals to fully deduct their health insurance premium payments resulting in less taxable income, and more money in your pocket to go ride!

Furthermore I plan on keeping a close watch on how this transforms in the months to come and doing my best to keep the industry updated.

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