Would You Avoid Participating in Obamacare if You Could?

Over 92 percent of federal employees do not want to be part of Obamacare, according to a recent survey by FedSmith.com.

The FedSmith.com survey included responses from 2,500 current and retired federal employees. 

"I suspect a similar percentage of private sector employees would also like to keep their coverage, but most won’t get that option," wrote Merrill Matthews in a Forbes article. "What I’d like to know is how many of those federal employees so eager to avoid Obamacare themselves supported forcing everyone else in it."

Members of Congress and their staff have already successfully avoided higher costs under the new health care law by ensuring their taxpayer-funded health care coverage subsidies will continue -- this despite the fact congressional salaries exceed the income threshold for such assistance under Obamacare.

Even federal workers who will be tasked with enforcing the health care law are apparently none too eager to be subject to the provisions of said law. National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) officials are campaigning for an exemption from Obamacare which would allow members to keep their current coverage and not enter the health care exchange. 

Non-government union workers are also waging battle against Obamacare. Last month, union representatives from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the UFCW and UNITE-HERE sent Democratic leaders in Congress a letter warning that Obamacare stands to "destroy the very health and wellbeing of our members along with millions of other hardworking Americans." Read the full letter here.

But what about those workers who are not federal employees and who are not represented by the union? How will they afford $10,000 to $20,000 a year or more for coverage especially if their income exceeds the subsidy level? 

"... all of those private sector taxpayers who make good salaries without access to employer-provided coverage and newly found sugar-daddy exemptions from the law will have to cough up that same price for coverage out of pocket.  But that’s their problem for not having a good government job," Matthews wrote in the Forbes article.

If you had the choice, would you keep the health insurance coverage you have now? Are you concerned about higher out-of-pocket costs related to the implementation of Obamacare? Do you think the law can be made to work or would you like to see it repealed? Let us know in the comments.