Introduction
The advantage of having healthcare is exceptionally important to each individual’s life. Individuals have the assets to teach themselves on the most proficient method to appropriately devour the sufficient nourishments, the significance of being physically dynamic, the hazard variables of normal sicknesses and so forth. Sickness or malady can change a man’s life in a matter of seconds, days and months. The primary resource people have in life is their wellbeing. The meaning of healthcare is the counteractive action, treatment, and administration of sickness and the conservation of mental and physical prosperity through the administrations offered by the restorative and unified wellbeing callings. Thus products and ventures are given to develop human wellbeing. Healthcare plays an important role in one’s life, uninsured people receive less medical care and less timely care, they have worse health outcomes, and lack of insurance is a fiscal burden for them and their families, moreover, the benefits of expanding coverage outweigh the costs for added services[i].
Affordable Care Act Overview (Obamacare)
When President Barack Obama inaugurated his first presidency he introduced the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare). His aim for the country is healthcare for all American citizens; Obama explains the benefits and compensation of the Affordable Care Act, and enlightens on the benefits the Act brings to the United States such as affordable healthcare to low income residents, reforms to the Healthcare Industry in order to cut wasteful spending, and the job opportunities the ACA will supply; however, some opinions stated that the Affordable Care Act proves an extend of ambiguity and will cause consequence to the American people; also during the 2009 – 2010 health reform debate, private insurers charged that this public plan would not be competing on a level playing field and thus would ultimately drive them out of business[ii]
In 2010, Obama had marked into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. For some years in the United States, the two primary political gatherings; Democrats and Republicans have been attempting to enhance for the American nation to acquire better healthcare. Accordingly the Obamacare will permit Americans that don’t meet all requirements for protection to accomplish it. Through significant level headed discussion the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed in the senate on December 24, 2009, and had gone in the House on March 21, 2010. President Obama signed this bill into law on March 23, 2010 and established on June 28, 2012 although after that, 26 states filed lawsuits challenging key provisions. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in support of most provisions but held that the mandatory Medicaid expansion was unconstitutional, in effect making it optional for the states[iii].
Obama’s Envision
Obama and congressional leaders argued that by reducing health care costs, a universal health insurance plan would actually help reduce the national deficit, but opponents argued that although the savings would be real, it will have only a minor impact on the deficit.
Under Obamacare, every legal resident of the U.S. who is not covered by either Medicare or an employer-provided plan could purchase coverage through ACA. As it currently does for Medicare, the federal government would bargain for lower prices and upgraded care for every enrollee. All enrollees could choose coverage under the affordable Medicare-like plan offering them free choice of medical providers or a selection of more expensive, comprehensive private health insurance plans.
In order to help pay for the plan, all U.S. employers would be expected to either provide health coverage for their employees equal in quality to Affordable Care Act or pay a modest payroll-based tax to support the Affordable Care Act and help their employees purchase their own coverage. This process would be similar to how employers currently pay an unemployment tax to help fund state unemployment compensation programs.
Self-employed persons will be able buy coverage under the Affordable Care Act by paying the same payroll-based tax as employers. Individuals not in the workplace could buy coverage by paying premiums based on their annual income. In addition to that, the federal government would offer the states incentives to enroll any remaining uninsured individuals in the ACA.
As for non-elderly beneficiaries of Medicare and S-CHIP (the State Children’s Health Insurance Program), they would be automatically enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, either through their employers or individually[iv].
Affordable Care Act Advantages and Disadvantages
As mentioned above, the ACA aimed to provide affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans, where millions of Americans actually benefitted by receiving insurance coverage through this act. Many of these people were unemployed or had low-payed jobs, other had disabilities that prevented them from getting a job. Some couldn’t get decent health insurance because of a pre-existing medical condition, such as a chronic disease. Despite all these positive outcomes, the ACA has been highly controversial. Conservatives protested the expense increments and higher protection premiums expected to pay for Obamacare. A few people in the healthcare industry are reproachful of the extra workload and costs set on medical providers. They likewise think it might negatively affect the nature of care. There are frequent calls for the ACA to be repealed or overhauled.
Here is an overview of some advantages and disadvantages of the Affordable Care Act
Advantages[v]
- Most Americans have insurance; more than 16 million Americans have health insurance which was obtained within the first five years of ACA where young adults make up the larger percentage.
- People with pre-existing conditions are granted coverage; a pre-existing condition, for example, cancer, made it troublesome for some individuals to get medical coverage before the ACA. Most insurance agencies wouldn’t cover treatment for these conditions. They said this was on the grounds that the disease or damage happened before you were secured by their arrangements. Under the ACA, you can’t be prevented scope on the grounds that from securing a previous wellbeing issue.
- No time limits on ACA; before the ACA, a few people with constant wellbeing issues came up short on protection scope. Insurance companies set breaking points on the measure of cash they would spend on an individual consumer. Insurance companies can no longer keep up a pre-set dollar confine on the scope they give their clients.
- Health insurance is more affordable; insurance companies should now spend no less than 80 percent of protection premiums on medical care and upgrades. The ACA likewise intends to keep safety net providers from making preposterous rate increments. Protection scope isn’t free by any methods, yet individuals now have a more extensive scope of scope choices.
- Cheaper prescription costs; the ACA guaranteed to make physician prescription drugs more moderate. Numerous individuals, especially seniors, can’t bear the cost of every one of their prescriptions. The number of prescription and generic drugs covered by the ACA is growing every year. Savings on prescription drugs exceeded $15 billion within the first five years of Obamacare.
Disadvantages[vi]
- Higher premium costs; insurance companies now provide a wider range of benefits and cover people with pre-existing conditions which caused premiums to rise for many people who already had health insurance.
- Higher taxes; new taxes were made to pay for the ACA, including charges on medical devices and pharmaceutical deals. Extra expenses were likewise made for individuals with high earnings. Financing likewise originates from reserve funds in Medicare payments. The well-off are sponsoring protection for poor people. A few business analysts, however, anticipate that in the long run, the ACA will decrease the deficiency and may in the end positively affect the financial plan.
- Individuals can be fined if they do not have insurance; the goal of Obamacare is for people to be insured year round. If you’re uninsured and don’t obtain an exemption, you must pay a modest fine. The fine is expected to increase over time. Some people think it’s intrusive for the government to require health insurance. ACA supporters argue that not having insurance passes your healthcare costs on to everyone else.
- Enrolling can be a complicated task; the ACA site had a ton of technical issues when it was initially propelled. This made it troublesome for individuals to enroll and prompted to postponements and lower-than-anticipated signups. The site issues were in the end altered; however numerous consumers have griped that agreeing to the right family and business scope can be dubious. Numerous hospitals and public health agencies have set up projects to guide consumers and entrepreneurs through the setup procedure. The ACA site likewise has areas committed to clarifying the strategies and available choices.
The Affordable Care Act Results
The ACA has recorded success rates; it has already saved many Americans from financial doom. It has improved the health care of millions. It has given many entrepreneurs the courage to quit jobs they hated and start new businesses[vii]. The ACA perhaps more than any law passed in the previous five decades, narrowed income inequality, saved lives, and reduced financial anxiety.
The Times highlighted one clinic in Los Angeles that had enrolled 18,000 people since the law took effect and is now reporting “a 44 percent increase in cervical cancer screenings, a 25 percent increase in tobacco cessation therapy, and a 22 percent increase in the share of patients with controlled hypertension.” Similarly, another new report show, this one by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Obamacare has cut down substantially on just these types of situation. The report finds that medical debt for those covered by Medicaid expansion has dropped by between $600 and $1000 per person[viii].
That may not seem like a lot of money for many Americans, but then again it’s hard to quantify fully the larger financial and psychological impact of medical debt. There’s a greater chance of bankruptcy; indeed, medical debt is the largest cause of personal bankruptcy. Despite this being said, recent news showed that several large insurers are leaving the ACA exchanges suggests that a sustainable long-term business model for selling health care has not yet been achieved. Obamacare subsidies are still too low, which is keeping out-of-pocket costs for average Americans too high. Indeed, though the percentage has gone down, more than a third of Americans still struggle to pay their medical bills.
Ideas to Strengthen the ACA
Employed parents should be allowed greater access to the new marketplaces; Congress should repair the “family glitch”, which prevents many low income families from buying affordable coverage. Congress should also give employers more prominent flexibility to offer—or not offer—coverage, while permitting workers corresponding flexibility to get coverage on the new marketplaces with the same subsidies as other Americans who have the same taxable incomes[ix].
The ACA should improve subsidies and otherwise reduce the burden of cost-sharing. Sticker shock in the individual health insurance market has shifted from premiums to deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket limit. These still leave too many working-class families with heavy medical bills, and discourage some from signing up for insurance at all, even given the existing subsidies.
The ACA should offer “public option” early Medicare coverage within health insurance marketplaces to seniors over 60. Medicare enjoys unique bargaining power not only in the aspect of competing with insurance companies, but it can also sit across the table from physician groups, hospitals, medical supply companies, pharmaceutical firms and more. Fear of Medicare’s potential bargaining power is present through the entire supply side of medical economy during the ensuing debate over health reform.
Conclusion
It can be easily said that there are good points and bad points to the ACA in regards to the insurance itself and also when it comes to the execution of the law through the website and other means. People who agree to the act will have the opportunity to be secured in case of a medical need. For a portion of those individuals, this may be their first chance to have health care coverage which will result in better medical care access; it can also provide significant piece of mind for those who have a pre-existing condition with a family that needs support. On the other hand, there are people who may fall through the cracks where they do not qualify for Medicaid and cannot afford their own insurance. That being said, ACA is no perfect, and more needs to be done specifically as problems in particular areas of it are discovered. Overall, ACA is a good idea. People need insurance and for many low income Americans, poverty is no something they chose. They cannot help their plight, but they still deserve medical treatment. Despite all the faults in ACA, it will allow people of all income levels to know that they can go to the doctor or hospital when needed.
[i] Randall R. Bovbjerg, Jack Hadley “Why Health Insurance Is Important” Nov, 2007
[ii] Gottschalk, Marie “ They’re Back: The Public Plan, the Reincarnation of Harry and Louise, and the Limits of Obamacare” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Jun 2011, Vol. 36, p393-400
[iii] Lanford Daniel, Quadagno, Jill “Implementing ObamaCare” Sociological Perspectives. Fall2016, Vol. 59 Issue 3, p619-639
[iv] Robert Longley “Obama’s Original Obamacare’s plan” Apr,2016
[v] James Roland “The Pros and Cons of Obamacare” Jun, 2015
[vi] Merline, John “ObamaCare’s Problems Can’t Be Brushed Off as Growing Pains” Investor’s Business Daily, Aug, 2016, p1-1
[vii] Friess, Seve, Time.com “How Obama Bungled Obamacare’s Success Stories” Dec, 2014
[viii] Michael, Cohen “Obamacare: an unheralded success” Apr, 2016
[ix] Harold, Pollack “Improve and Repair: Three Ideas to strengthen the ACA” Aug,2015 No.38
