Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog

#GeeksGetCovered: Real Estate Entrepreneur Encourages Geeks to Enroll

As consumers surge to Healthcare.gov on the last day of open enrollment, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s #GeeksGetCovered initiative continues to focus on raising awareness, sharing stories, and encouraging healthcare enrollment among geeks, innovators, and entrepreneurs.

As part of the effort, I recently caught up with Seattle-based entrepreneur Galen Ward, who founded the real estate website Estately in 2006. While he was able to purchase individual health insurance at that time, he reflects: “If I'd had a preexisting condition that made health insurance unaffordable, I wouldn’t have Estately in the first place. There’s a myth that entrepreneurs are risk takers. We’re actually risk managers.” Galen has seen firsthand other entrepreneurs struggle with lack of coverage, and the negative impact it had on their ability to focus on their dream. Today, Galen is passionate about encouraging other entrepreneurs to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act and to get covered.  

Galen Ward, Founder, Estately

Why do you consider yourself a “geek”?

I’m a numbers guy and I make numbers-backed decisions. Every day at Estately we geek out on real estate statistics and user experience data. I created the company to help people become real estate geeks. 

What does having affordable healthcare mean to you?

Affordable healthcare for all means anyone who wants to can take the same risk I did and start their own company without risking their health and without risking bankruptcy because of a health issue. It means people can take time to work to build a skill - like learning to program - in order to get a better job and without worrying about access to health insurance. That’s phenomenal. That flexibility is what allows people to build a better life for themselves, and, once in a while, to build a groundbreaking new company or product.

How can the Affordable Care Act—or access to affordable, quality health insurance—enable entrepreneurs to pursue new opportunities?

When we made our first, second and third hires at Estately, health insurance was a huge wild card that we just couldn’t afford to offer.

I hated doing it, but we had to ask people to either find their own health insurance or take a risk - otherwise we couldn’t afford to hire them. It limited the people who were interested in working for us. Employers shouldn't be in that position, and workers should not have to be dependent on the availability of healthcare when deciding whether to take a job.

Now that we have the ACA this isn’t an issue for many startups, because they have options in the marketplaces. I genuinely believe the Affordable Care Act is one of the best things to happen to startups and small businesses in America in my lifetime.

What advice do you have for other geeks?

Statement by John P. Holdren on Approval of the IPCC's Climate-Impacts Report

Today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approved its Working Group II report on climate change “Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability”— the second installment of the group’s full Fifth Assessment Report. Upon the report’s approval, John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science & Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, issued the following statement:

“Climate change is a global threat, touching every region of the world and every sector of the economy.

The IPCC’s new report underscores the need for immediate action in order to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. It reflects scientists’ increased confidence that the kinds of harm already being experienced as a result of climate change are likely to worsen as the world continues to warm.

The report highlights the widespread and substantial observed impacts of climate change, and its growing adverse effects on livelihoods, ecosystems, economies, and human health. Importantly, it also concludes that effective adaptation measures can help build a more resilient global society in the near term and beyond.

The IPCC’s findings reinforce the importance and urgency of work already underway across the U.S. Government to implement President Obama’s Climate Action Plan—with its multipronged focus on reducing U.S. emissions, boosting climate-change preparedness and resilience, and working across borders to develop global solutions.

Today’s approval follows more than five years of collaborative work by hundreds of physical and social scientists from the United States and around the world to comprehensively assess what is known about the global impacts of and vulnerabilities to climate change. More than a dozen U.S. Government researchers contributed to the report and Federal investments enabled many of the peer-reviewed scientific studies that underpin its findings.

I applaud the many expert contributors to this report, which today stands as the most comprehensive and authoritative synthesis of knowledge about global climate-change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability ever generated.

The Obama Administration is committed to continued participation in IPCC activities and to the rigorous use of scientific information as a foundation for action to address the threats from climate change.

I look forward to this Administration’s ongoing collaboration with international partners to finalize the IPCC’s full Fifth Assessment, set for release later this year.”

###