California’s Insurance Commissioner says the Obama administration’s decision to delay the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act means more people will have to buy their own health insurance in a few months. Health Care Reporter Pauline Bartolone has more from Sacramento.
The Department of Insurance says the vast majority of California’s large companies already offer their employees health coverage. But about one and a half million Californians are in companies with 50 or more workers, and no insurance options.
Commissioner Dave Jones says many of these people will have to buy insurance either in or out of the new health marketplaces.
“And there is a significant cost to the federal treasury both in California and nationwide, because yes, a lot of those employees who otherwise would have been getting health insurance through their employer due to the mandate will now be purchasing through either a state exchange or a federal exchange,” says Jones.
Many people getting coverage on the exchange will get subsidies. The Department of Insurance also says some of the workers in large companies may qualify for Medicaid under the federal health law.
