Tester: Most will benefit from Obamacare

Montanans will benefit from the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — commonly called Obamacare — which takes full effect next year.

That’s the view of Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

However, he added, he is “frustrated” by the problems in rolling out the online insurance exchange, which started the same day as the federal shutdown, Oct. 1, and that he believes the Montana Legislature made a mistake in not setting up a state-run exchange and in not expanding Medicaid coverage.

“Folks out there are going through all kinds of contortions to make sure this doesn’t work … ,” Tester, a Democrat, said. “I think it’s silly.”

He also said that people who are concerned about the changes may not have enough information.

A reporter asked Tester to comment about a woman the reporter knows, who is a single mother of three and will have to drop her $10,000-deductible policy and believes she cannot afford the policy required under Obamacare.

“I am not sure that is correct,” Tester replied.

He added that he was in that situation himself, with a $10,000 deductible in his personal health care policy.

“It wasn’t that I was particularly happy with what I had,” he said. “I couldn’t afford better.”

The new program includes tax credits to help low- and middle-income people to pay for the better insurance, he said. He said it also should help rein in increases in health care costs and insurance premium costs, by reducing the chance of uninsured people waiting to go to the emergency room to get high-cost treatment that others end up paying for.

He said he is hopeful that by the end of the month the online federal exchange will be running better, and added that the problems have been “ridiculous.”

“The bottom line is, they have folks working on that,” he added.

He also echoed State Auditor Monica Lindeen in saying he believes the state should have set up its own exchange.

Some states did set up their own exchanges, but 36 opted to use the federal exchange. Some of those with state-run exchanges also have had problems while others have performed well. Kentucky’s state exchange has been touted as essentially glitch-free. The exchanges in California, Minnesota and New York also have been touted as running well.

Lindeen, who regulates insurance and securities in Montana, requested the Legislature authorize the state setting up its own insurance exchange on which residents could shop for policies under the new insurance regulations set up by the Affordable Care Act. The Legislature voted down that request, leaving Montana to use the federally run exchange.

That exchange has been plagued with problems since it started operation, with many unable to access the information about coverage or sign up for policies.

Lindeen told Montana lawmakers Oct. 22 that she also was frustrated and upset that the federal exchange was plagued with problems — but also that the state had not set up its own exchange.

“I know you're never supposed to say I told you so, but I really have to say it this time," she told a panel of lawmakers meeting for an update on the exchange.

Republicans have replied with some “I told you so” of their own, with the chair of the state Republican Party saying his party had predicted increased premiums and cancelled policies under the new regulations, which some people are starting to see.

Lindeen told the lawmakers that, along with using the troubled online exchange, people can apply using a toll-free telephone number or download an application to fill out and mail in.

Tester also pointed that out during Thursday’s press conference.

President Barack Obama’s administration last week extended the deadline for applying for the insurance to March 31, originally the deadline for having insurance, for reasons including the problems people are having enrolling.

Some Democratic lawmakers are calling for more, asking the fine — about $95 in the first year for most people — for not having insurance be waived for next year, providing a transition period to implement the program.

In a radio interview with Billings radio station KYYA, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he would consider delaying the penalties for not having insurance, but that delaying the penalties at this point is too early. Lawmakers should wait to see if the insurance exchange, which he likened to “Humpty Dumpty,” can be put back together again first, he said.

Originally, to have the insurance in time to avoid a penalty, people would have to apply by mid-February. The change now gives them until March 31 to apply and still avoid the penalty.

Tester said Thursday that, along with his belief the Legislature should have set up a state-run exchange instead of joining the federal exchange, the state lawmakers also should have approved the Medicaid expansion.

The 2010 law used expanding Medicaid to provide insurance to many low-income Americans now without insurance. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2012 that the law was constitutional, it also ruled that states could choose whether to expand Medicaid.

The Montana Legislature chose not to do that, a decision Tester berated Thursday. He said, however, that as a federal lawmaker, he can’t do anything about that.

“If the Montana Legislature won’t play ball, it’s up to the Montana voters to change the Legislature or make them change their minds,” he said.