That was the attention-grabber on the outside of an envelope a friend of mine received today from a local insurance broker. Inside the envelope was a flyer aimed at selling insurance brokerage services to small business owners. The text assumed the reader had been carefully schooled to believe that Obamacare would be catastrophically costly to employers. It positioned the insurance broker as a wizard, who could magically transform the perils of Obamacare into opportunity. But a more careful reading of the flyer reveals a much simpler message:
The Affordable Care Act is a good deal.
Here's how the message starts:
Like you, I have employees - and I'm saving money on Obamacare. YOU could easily do the same. Plus, you and your employees could actually get better coverage while you bank your savings. Yes, it IS possible, when you know how the system really works.
The letter goes on to hint about tax credits, group and individual plans, and a range of available choices that make it possible in many cases for employers to offer better coverage at lower cost.
I have no idea whether the particular broker that sent the flyer is any good. But the flyer is an interesting twist on what we've been hearing about the ACA. My sense is that insurance brokers habitually sell fear, and the broker that sent this item saw an opportunity to drum up business by combining the hyped-up fear over the ACA with the tangible benefits it offers. I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come - that once more people understand how the Affordable Care Act actually works, reality will finally overwhelm the noise.