ACA - Individual Mandate vs Employer Mandate - who is responsible for your health insurance coverage?

Much has been said about the Affordable Care Act but it seems an injustice that the flood of information has left an uncomfortably high portion of society clueless at best.  For the average person they know the basics and how they interpret the information really depends on what side of the political isle one places themselves.  Take for an example the employer mandate was extended for another year but the individual mandate remains in play.  Some unfortunately read this as though they as an individual need to wait for their employer to decide.  This is sadly incorrect.

As individuals when it comes to issues that affect us personally sometimes it is more beneficial to look at things outside the political purview.  After all, neither your congressman nor your senator has an intimate knowledge of neither your finances nor your health.  Since Health insurance, like any other forms of insurance, is a vehicle used for risk management.  Why then would you give that much power to someone who has a macro view of your needs.  The only difference between the regular insurance we purchase for our houses and cars is that there is certainty that you will definitely use your health insurance to one extent or another.

I have a friend who had one of those catastrophic health plans– which in my world means “I have a card and that’s about it” (thankfully that was cancelled for not meeting basic needs).  With this plan you are not passing the risk onto to anyone – you are literally keeping all the risk but paying someone for a false sense confidence of coverage.  While some use the excuse that they are not buying into ACA because they are not comfortable with certain parts of the bill – seriously you will deny yourself health insurance coverage because you have issue with some woman down the street getting contraceptives? But all is not lost for you for it is still possible to buy health insurance outside the exchange.  Insurance Agents - National Association of Health Underwriters

Then others give the excuse I am waiting for my employer to make a decision – this is where ignorance reigns supreme.  So you are literally opting not to have coverage until your employer has had the chance to see how they can possible avoid offering you health insurance coverage.  If only we could concentrate on the things that affect us directly and partially listen to the things that irrelevant.  It is blatantly obvious that there is a huge amount of information out there – some information misguides people either by undermining the benefits or overselling benefits.  Some information is helpful but nonetheless all of it can be a systems overload for an ordinary person on the street to understand.  Nice thing about living in this digital age you can total streamline your search to only the specific things that matter to you.