Elections are over and now we move forward. As for me and my agency, the landscape of employee benfits, in particular health insurance, will be completely changed in the coming year(s).
The D.C. Health Benefits Exchange Board voted to exclude brokers from the health insurance equation, forcing all small employers with 50 or fewer workers to buy health insurance for their workers online through the D.C. health insurance exchange. Individuals who call the District home would also be denied the right to purchase insurance through a broker. Larger employers would eventually be moved over to the exchange as laws are further implemented.
In addition, Maryland and Virginia residents who happen to work in the District would also be required to carry health insurance purchased by their employer through the government-run online insurance marketplace.
I have a large client base in DC and it looks like I'll be evntually shut out of being their insurance representative with no indication that this might change. This is what Obamacare has done to my small business!