Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Just as the dreaded tax deadline date is permanently engraved in the minds of the American people, the deadline to enroll in the government’s new health care plan will be fixed in their memory as well. President Barack Obama designed a universal healthcare program for the people of the United States called the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act, or Obamacare. This plan, signed by President Obama, has initiated debate from the moment his pen hit the paper and the arguments for and against the plan have developed on each extreme ends of the spectrum. Liberals have supported Obamacare and its structure while the conservatives have appealed against the plan and argued it is not what is best for Americans. The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act has both benefits and drawbacks, some outweighing the other.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

First, discussing the advantages of Obamacare gives a picture of why the health care coverage proposal was implemented on January 1, 2015. The primary reason is that plan provides health care coverage for uninsured Americans. People who have not carried insurance because they were employed part time or their employer opted to not offer it, or simply because it was not affordable, now for the first time have healthcare insurance. “Through a combination of creating the health insurance marketplace and encouraging the states to expand Medicaid, millions of Americans without health insurance now have access to affordable coverage” (The Pros and Cons of ObamaCare, 2013). This is a relief to those who have struggled without the health care they needed because of lack of funds to pay for it. Along with affordability, another attractive advantage to Obamacare, according to Elizabeth Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

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Obama’s Health Care Plan popularly known as ObamaCare is officially termed as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA as abbreviated) which has been made in law as on 23rd March in 2010. The bill purports to provide “affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending and for other purposes”. As per the report of PBS, 44 million Americans are without health insurance and the primary reason for this is the exorbitant cost of health insurance in USA. President Obama by enacting this law wants to make sure of every American gaining an access to healthcare. Since its inception ObamaCare has been subjected to a widespread criticism due to the whopping cost of estimated $1.5 trillion to put this plan into action. This paper will discuss the key features of ObamaCare touching upon the pros and cons of the policy and the view of different stakeholders on the same.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

The key features of ObamaCare healthcare policies include the following:
Coverage for All:
– This plan will make a new national healthcare plan, similar to the healthcare insurance available to the members of Congress, available to all American residents including self-employed individuals and small business owners.
– ObamaCare allows citizens the benefit of paying affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles. People who are unable to qualify for Medicaid or State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) will receive a federal subsidy based on their income to be able to purchase a private healthcare plan. Further, participants of these new healthcare plans would be able to move from job to job without bothering about changing their healthcare coverage.
– Until now healthcare insurance agency could refuse someone on the ground of pre-existing health condition or the benefits offered could be limited for that condition. Under this new healthcare plan, a child below age 19 could not be limited or excluded from an insurance coverage just because of an illness or disability he or she developed prior to the application for coverage.
– This new plan allows insurance coverage to children till the age of 26 years through their parents’ insurance policy even though they are married, attending school, not living with their parents and financially independent.
– Earlier an insurance company could cancel the insurance coverage of someone if he makes an unintentional mistake or leaves out information on his insurance application but the ObamaCare prevents such retroactive cancellation of insurance coverage.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay
– Further ObamaCare ensures that someone can practice his right to appeal if an insurance plan denies paying for a treatment or service.

Costs
– Previously, many healthcare plans apply an annual limit or dollar limit on the yearly expenditure on covered benefits. Many plans even set a life time limit or dollar limit on the maximum coverage one would get throughout his life time under a plan. Any cost exceeding those limits was to be paid by the person from his own pocket but ObamaCare prohibits the lifetime limits on most of the benefits.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay
– ObamaCare mandates insurance companies to expend the premium dollars of the subscribers primarily on healthcare by enforcing the ’80/20′ policy. Under this new law, insurers will have to spend 80% premium on the improvement of the quality of healthcare and direct medical care (HHS).
– ObamaCare puts a Rate Review Program in place in order to protect the subscribers and small businesses from unexplainable increase in health insurance rate for about 10% or more. Under this program, insurers will have to post their explanations for the increase on HealthCare.gov so that the reasons could be scrutinized and be accepted or rejected by the state regulator.
– Prescription drugs are comparatively quite expensive in USA than Europe and Canada. Under ObamaCare, Americans are now allowed to purchase medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are available at low price.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Care
– ObamaCare makes it mandatory for many insurers to provide free of cost preventive healthcare services including vaccination, blood pressure, mammograms, cholesterol tests, colonoscopies, osteoporosis, gestational diabetes screening for women pregnant for 24-28 weeks or at high risk of gestational diabetes, syphilis, cervical cancer and many more.
– ObamaCare allows one to choose any primary care provider as one’s doctor and invalidates the requirement of a referral from a primary care provider before seeking treatment from OB-GYN specialists. This plan also allows one to seek emergency care in a hospital outside the network of one’s healthcare plan without prior approval (HHS).Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Funding
As per the estimation made by the Obama campaign the new healthcare reform plan will cost about 1.1 trillion by the next decade when the plan is fully phased in. President Obama wants to pay for the total cost of this health care plan primarily through an increase of tax rates for people earning in excess of $250,000 a year by reducing their deductions on charitable contributions and mortgage interest. People who used to pay income taxes at 33% or 35% rates could claim deductions on those rates but under ObamaCare, they could get deduction of only 28% of the value of those income tax payments. High-earning families would also have to pay higher premiums to get benefits from a prescription drug plan or Medicare’s doctor plan. Tax cuts would be extended to middle class and poor working families and the gap would be compensated by the sale of new carbon-emission permits for renewable energy projects (Meckler, 2009). Due to the cap and trade program being in place to fight global warming, companies would be forced to purchase these permits. Apart from the ObamaCare cost the policy plans to expand Medicaid which will result in $1.5 trillion additional cost. These costs are offset by new health care industry taxes, health care cost cuts, penalty payments, and a new excise tax on high premium health plans.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Pros and Cons of ObamaCare
The main objective of the ACA or Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare coverage plan available to all the people in USA so that people in the poor and middle class group can avail healthcare insurance plans under subsidized rate and in case of their inability to maintain medical insurance, they can get into Medicaid if their incomes fall under a defined level. A survey conducted by Commonwealth Fund came up with the finding that the percentage of uninsured young adults aged between 19-25 dropped from 48% to 41% between the years 2010-2012, going against the decade long trend of increasing uninsured rates in that age group prior to ObamaCare. This decline in the uninsured rates among young adults could be ascribed to ObamaCare which allows young adults the privilege of insurance through parents’ health insurance plan. The survey also found that the percentage of uninsured and underinsured adults grew rapidly between 2003 and 2010 from 16 million to 29 million but after ObamaCare came into picture, this growth percentage has leveled off in last three years (Mahon, 2013).Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay
ObamaCare will have different cost impacts on different people. On an average the estimated ‘bronze’ health care plan will cost between $4500-$5800. In ‘bronze’ plan 60% of the out of pocket will be covered. More expensive plans like ‘silver'(70%), gold (80%) and platinum (90%) will cover more medical expenses providing a more comprehensive care. ObamaCare tries to extend the insurance horizon to the 30 million uninsured people and also extends the Medicaid services.
Most of the cost burden will be shouldered by the insurance companies and the employers liable to pay for the insurance of their employees. Users using Tan Beds are already burdened with a 10% tax hike. Wealthier Americans also will feel the impact as 3.8% surtax will be levied on high-earning people. This surtax will be charged if married couple filing together has income more than $250,000 or single filers reporting more than $200,000. High earning households will also earn Medicare tax spike by 0.9% on their earned income (Obama Care Facts). Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies will also see a spike in government fees which will be implemented in a phased manner starting in 2012-2013.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay
The plan will provide 35% tax credit of the total health care cost to small businesses so that the cost of health plan is low for them. For very small companies with less than 10 employees a full tax credit will be provided. For individuals or families, the average health care cost is 20% of the total household income. It is projected that the average cost for the family will come down to around 7-8%.
Though the proponents believe that the quality of care will improve under ObamaCare because the law is making efforts to enhance the service of the existing healthcare facilities by recruiting more people in the healthcare workforce, funding 190 construction and refurbishment projects at health centers, supporting more than 485 new constructions and refurbishment projects of health centers and building 245 new health centers within next few years (Booze, 2013). The completion of these projects would result in providing service for at least 4 million people. But the opponents argue that the increasing number of insured patients will add to the difficulty in finding a doctor. The current state of doctor shortage will aggravate due to the negative view of doctors about ObamaCare. A survey results shows that 60% doctors believe that the pressure of reducing costs, improving quality and increasing volume will negatively impact the patient care while 43% physicians confess that they are contemplating the option of early retirement.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay
ObamaCare has some unintended consequences. The subsidized rate allowed to people making certain levels of income may give rise to the problem of losing about $5,000 if the income level of someone exceeds the respective cap even by a dollar. For example, if a couple is eligible for 3,452 worth subsidies to buy a silver insurance plan under the scheme of ObamaCare, they will lose the subsidy if they earn even $1 extra than the respective cap of their annual income level (Brophy, 2013).

Health Care Responses
Like the doctors, hospitals too are not taking a positive view on ObamaCare. A survey conducted by Commonwealth Fund finds out that 75% hospitals show no interest in forming ACOs or Accountable Care Organizations which are the unified networks of healthcare providers under ObamaCare meant to coordinate healthcare services for Medicare patients, control costs and remove waste (Pipes, 2012). ACOs are likely to burden the doctors and hospitals with significant amount of administrative work and financial risks and therefore, the doctors and hospitals are totally against it. As of now only 154 ACOs have been formed and that falls far below the expectation of Obama government.
In a recent study it was found that many of the uninsured people to whom the plan is mainly targeted at are unaware of the ObamaCare. However, many uninsured people do not know about the plan but those who know are optimistic and hopeful that they will at last get what they think is a basic need which was lacking. On the other hand many people who are currently insured don’t feel the same way. They fear that the overall cost may not rise but the quality of service may decline after the implementation of the ObamaCare. Even some fear that they may lose the type of coverage they are getting from their employers and have to settle for an inferior health plan.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay
Many believe that ObamaCare will increase the cost for employers. However, employers are still committed to pay for its employees at least in the short term. At this point in time employers are not taking any action but waiting to see how the health care market shapes up in near future. Insurance companies are not the happiest lot. They feel that ObamaCare will make the insurance market inefficient and ultimately the overall cost will increase.

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Conclusion
ObamaCare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a plan meant to overhaul the current healthcare market in USA. The plan was designed and put in place by the Obama administration and ultimately was passed by the senate in 2012. The basic objective of the plan is to incorporate 30 million uninsured people of USA into insurance plans by providing affordable healthcare plans. ObamaCare ensures healthcare coverage for all the Americans by making it an affordable option. Though the healthcare cost may go up slightly for high income groups but the same for an average American will come down. Many perceive that after ACA is fully implemented the overall efficiency and quality of healthcare service will deteriorate. However, those are speculations and only will be understood as and when the plan is in full implementation phase. Overall the plan will do more benefit than harm to the society in the way of providing affordable healthcare Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

For millions of Americans, there is one policy that provides equal health care coverage for all; and that is called The Affordable Care Act ( ACA)1 or also known as Obamacare. This program provides standardized medical expenses/procedures to be made and allows everyone — who is eligible — to have coverage. However, I think that we need to take in account how Obamacare is negatively impacting the lower class, middle class, and upper class; therefore, we should remove it. This law became effective on March 23, 2010 (Key Features of The Affordable Care Act). Obamacare is one of the most controversial topics because there are many holes in the system that makes The Affordable Care Act almost impossible to provide equal coverage to everyone. For instance, it’s effecting small and large businesses, there is a penalty if you do not sign up for the ACA and there are not enough doctors that are available. In addition, there are many other subheadings under The Affordable Care Act, such as Medicaid, which is a federal law to provide assistance and Medi-Cal 2  Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

On March 23, 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as The Affordable Healthcare Act, aka Obamacare. In this paper I am going to explain some of the major parts of the Affordable Healthcare Act and explain where I stand with this law. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was designed to improve the healthcare and health insurance business in the United States of America. Some of the main focuses of Obamacare is to add new gains for health care, more rights, more security, and making health care more affordable and more accessible to every citizen in the United States. Before the Affordable Healthcare Act was signed into law it could become rather difficult to get health insurance. If a person tried to get health insurance you could be charged extra or completely denied from a health insurance plan solely based on certain things about a person that could not be helped. If a person wanted health insurance but have a pre-existing condition, that alone is grounds for health insurance companies to deny a person from coverage, or charged a ridiculous amount of money. A pre-existing condition includes having a chronic disease, which almost one in two adults have; many people die each year from a chronic disease that could have easily been treated but because it is a pre-existing condition these people could either not afford or were denied the coverage. Another reason why the insurance company could Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Healthcare is one of the gravest concerns of any civilized society. Keeping people healthy is not often a simple feat. Instead, it requires an extensive program of financial and community support to be put in place (Sommers, Buchmueller, Decker, Carey & Kronick, 2013). Ultimately, the goal of any healthcare legislation is to make medical care both more affordable and more accessible to the greater population. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to do both of these things while simultaneously recognizing how the two are inter-related to one another. As seen in the North Carolina case study, people who were below the poverty line already received government assistance with obtaining healthcare (Milstead, 2013). That is not to say that ready access is synonymous with this type of monetary assistance. Other matters in the life of an individual and a family can affect the overall health status of the family (Sommers, Buchmueller, Decker, Carey & Kronick, 2013). For example, in other healthcare programs of the past, children were covered much like they are today; however, if a child’s parent made slightly more than the national poverty amount they may not be eligible for subsidized healthcare. If this child’s parent were to have a dangerous car accident, the financial burden of the parent’s medical bills would put the stability of the entire family at risk (Cantor, Monheit, DeLia & Lloyd, 2012). The ACA worked to rectify such disparities by providing equal access for the entire family.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Goals of the Affordable Care Act
While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is ripe with intricate detail, there are a few main goals that define the new laws. Most importantly, the ACA was passed with the goal of making healthcare affordable for everyone. This goal has wider implications on the economy. Not only did the government wish to make healthcare more affordable on an individual level, but also to reduce the costs of specific procedures and interventions so the government is not as weighed down by the financial costs either (Milstead, 2013). When regulated by governmental bodies, individual procedures can become less expensive. This decreases the financial burden on the government and on individuals. If goals of the ACA are promoted in tandem and achieved effectively, it would hopefully increase the number of people who are covered in general. While the financial implications of affordable healthcare are essential to this discussion, there are also a myriad of ethical issues at play (Milstead, 2013).Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

It is undeniable that everyone deserves a healthy body and mind. While some people may be more successful in their own careers or businesses that is not to say that each and every person does not deserve help from a medical professional when it is indicated. In many ways, healthcare is one of the inalienable rights highlighted in the constitution. There is a delicate balance in society where every member is important no matter his/her perspective, social status or career. Is it not also important that every person have the potential to live a healthy life? While many people consider this issue when a life is at stake, one of the most effective aspects of healthcare is when it is used in a preventative measure (Koh & Sebelius, 2010). The ACA, in fact, provides coverage for many preventative measures including a widespread smoking cessation campaign. Mammograms are also another example of preventative services that are covered by the ACA (Sommers, Buchmueller, Decker, Carey & Kronick, 2013). While no one can deny that early detection is a positive outcome of the ACA, these services need to be coupled with an increase in education about the importance of such services. People in support of the ACA would be well reasoned to support future research about the best ways to teach the public about the ACA and the important procedures the laws provide that were once considered exclusive.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Controversy in the Affordable Care Act
Not everyone agrees with the expansions made to health insurance in recent years. Some individuals find this increase in coverage particularly offensive because ACA requires support from taxpayers who may or may not be intimately linked to those people who now receive coverage but may never have in the past (Sommers, Buchmueller, Decker, Carey & Kronick, 2013). This issue is particularly significant in the context of the Medicaid/Medicare expansion laws that were imparted as a quintessential part of the ACA. Medicaid and Medicare are meant to represent those people who do not receive health insurance through their jobs. Young people can benefit from Medicaid while elderly, disabled, and retired individuals can procure Medicare. While both systems have been in place for a long while, the ACA afforded more capitol for both of these organizations so they could better handle the growing number of elderly people who were uninsured while also supporting families in need of proper medical coverage. There are more people covered by insurance through these avenues than there have been in the past. This is in large part due to the legalities put in place by the Affordable Care Act (Milstead, 2013).Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Successes of the Affordable Care Act
In many ways, the ACA has been largely successful in achieving the goals in which its inventors set forth. Through these laws, there have been many new mechanisms introduced into the system of governmental healthcare including but not limited to, subsidies, insurance exchanges and coverage for all applicants. Not only is coverage more available, but the ACA also requires that everyone receive similar payment plans for their insurance. Essentially, in general there is more legislation in control of equal access to healthcare in place now than there ever was before (Blumenthal & Collins, 2014). This is not to mention the increasingly strict, and ultimately constitutional wording regarding equal coverage for all races and genders. Similarly, those with pre-existing medical conditions cannot be denied health insurance as they might have previously been denied in the past. An individual suffering from cancer certainly see a huge effect as a result of this law as they could receive individualized coverage without exhausting every resource in the event that they survive.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Aside from the general success that many people have been able to achieve a feeling of comfort when previously this would have been denied, there are very specific positive outcomes that have occurred as a direct result of the ACA. As evidenced in the North Caroline case study, an increasing number of individuals receive healthcare subsidies from the government since the onset of the ACA (Milstead, 2013). Amongst these individuals are an increasing number of those who were never previously insured. In particular there are tax penalties in place for people who are not enrolled in healthcare coverage that encourage more and more people to have backup coverage. In a word, the ACA has been largely successful in achieving primary goals for the nation as a whole.Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay

Conclusion
While most of the effects of the ACA are positive, there are some negative possibilities inherent to the Affordable Care Act. For example, with more people benefiting from access to coverage, there is a greater influx of people coming to medical appointments. It is important that the system expand to accommodate this growth so there are enough medical professionals in place to see patients. Subsequently, physicians, nurses and other professionals should be continually employed to give their opinions about the healthcare system. It is these professionals who can navigate the complexities of the current medical system as well as anticipate concerns for the future of healthcare. Obamacare And Affordable Healthcare Act Essay