Obama Equates Buying Healthcare With Online Shopping

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Details on the Obamacare insurance plans officially go live online on Oct. 1, and President Obama is beginning to explain how it will work for consumers. Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessey of the Los Angeles Times report that the president told college students today that buying health insurance is about to become as easy as shopping online.

Obama Equates Buying Healthcare With Online Shopping

Obamacare pitched to college students

President Obama spoke with students at a community college in Maryland this morning, and he compared the online healthcare marketplaces, which go live next Tuesday, to online travel sites which enable consumers to compare prices online and then just pick the best one. He believes people will save money through his plan.

His speech at the college today focused more on the “how” of the Affordable Care Act rather than the “why,” which has been batted around by politicians for months. When the online marketplaces open on Tuesday, anyone who doesn’t have insurance gets an open-enrollment period which goes until March. During this period, consumers can review the plans which are available on the marketplace and decide which, if any, they want to sign up for.

More briefings on Obamacare ahead

A number of other briefings and conferences will also occur around the nation as the Obama administration fans out to explain how the Affordable Care Act will work. At this point polls show that even uninsured Americans remain unsure about whether they will benefit under the new insurance plan. Last week a survey conducted by Pew Research found that uninsured Americans were just as likely to disapprove of Obamacare as they are to approve of it.

About a third of uninsured Americans believe the new law will have a negative impact on them. Only about half of those who were polled knew that it offers subsidies to cut down on the cost of insurance payments.

Online shopping touted as part of Obamacare

President Obama and his administration are especially highlighting the online aspect of the insurance marketplaces. Currently the marketplaces do not show any of the plans or pricing for those plans. That information will not be posted until Oct. 1, so many Americans are anxiously waiting to see the details. That website is healthcare.gov, and the site itself is up for those who want to learn more about Obamacare before the plans are posted on Tuesday.

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