Get All Access for $5/mo

Brace for a Bumpy Road Ahead, Obamacare Rollout Expected to Be Patchy Small-business owners will soon be able to enroll for health insurance on new, online marketplaces. Health-care experts weigh in on how that process might look.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Fox News

The transition to Obamacare is expected to be smooth in some states and messy in others.

As part of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, digital exchanges where individuals and businesses can shop for, compare and purchase health insurance will launch in October. Small-business owners will have their own online marketplaces to compare insurance programs and enroll in coverage for themselves and their employees, called SHOPs, an acronym for Small Business Health Options Program.

On a conference call with reporters today, organized by small-business software provider Sage, several health-care industry experts weighed in on what to expect in this first phase of Obamacare.

"My expectation is that the rollout, which starts on October 1, is going to come close to succeeding in a number of jurisdictions, and it is going to be a big mess in some others," says Henry Aaron, health-care expert, economist and fellow at the nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution.

Related: Health-Care Innovators Get President Obama's Attention

The transition will be very different in, say, Massachusetts than it will be in Texas, says Aaron. "The bottom line here is this experience is going to be all over the map," he says. In Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington, D.C., Aaron has seen a "cooperative spirit" among policy makers, industry leaders and state officials, where all parties have an understanding of the inherent frustrations involved in launching a new system. "You are going to have other situations where the problems are worse because of the lack of cooperation to begin with, and people are going to point to those problems and say, "See? We told you so.' "

Small-business owners have reported feeling anxiety ahead of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Aaron, who has been appointed to the District of Columbia Health Benefit Exchange Authority and is responsible for establishing the health-care exchange for Washington, D.C., says he has observed "a sense of hope mixed in equal parts with deep concern and worry about what is going to happen in six months to a year."

Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., have opted to set up their own health-care exchanges, while the rest have deferred the responsibility, leaving it in the hands of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The relative level of ease that business owners can expect in signing up for the exchanges will depend on several factors, including the number of uninsured individuals in your state and cooperation from state-level regulators and insurance officials, says Aaron.

Related: Businesses Have Additional Year Before Facing Obamacare Penalty Fees

Part of the struggle is that millions of individuals will be accessing the exchanges, so even a small percentage of error can translate into a huge number of mistakes. "If we do something reasonably well, most of the time, that means we are good 90 percent of the time, which most people would give you an "A,'" says Bernard DiFiore, president and chief executive of BenefitMall, a benefit provider that has been involved in the implementation of exchanges in a number of states. But when you are dealing with health insurance, a 90 percent success rate is going to come across as a failure to the public.

For example, a 90 percent success rate for a health exchange that is responsible for matching 30,000 individuals would mean 3,000 very unhappy individuals, says DiFiore. A few unhappy, vocal customers have the potential to upset the public and sour them on the process entirely. That could "create massive concern about the delivery of the products, and I worry about that," DiFiore says.

Johnny Laurent, the vice president and general manager of Sage, says Obamacare is the most pressing issue for approximately two-thirds of Sage's clients. And politicians know that. The relative success or failure of the Affordable Care Act's implementation is expected to be the central, deciding factor in midterm Congressional elections, says Aaron.

Related: Health Insurance Reform: Prep Your Staff for the Changes

Media outlets and politicians will likely present a range of narratives about the implementation based on their political leanings, breeding confusion and stoking anxiety, says Aaron. "We are going to have something of a media circus starting in a couple of months," he says.

To help small-business owners navigate the process in their state, Sage is developing a computer program, expected to be released this fall, to walk employers through upcoming decisions that they will have to make. Already, a number of online resources are available to help business owners understand the upcoming decisions. See our related story: Obamacare Answers A Few Clicks Away.

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

Melinda French Gates Announces Open Call for $250 Million Fund. Here's Who Can Apply.

The fund is part of French Gates's $1 billion philanthropic plan.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business Plans

How to Master Your Strategic Planning As You Prepare Your Business for 2025

Here's how to best think about strategic planning, communication rhythms and maintaining alignment for consistent growth as you plan for next year.

Business News

Daniel Lubetzky Took Kind Snacks From Idea to $5 Billion. Here's His Best Advice For Anyone Who Wants to Start a Business.

In an interview with Entrepreneur, Kind Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky tells aspiring business owners not to follow someone else's path to success — even his.

Business News

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Isn't Worried About AI Taking Over Jobs — Here's Why

Dimon said AI was part of the next wave of tech innovation.