The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a primary debate topic since it was enacted in 2010. The conservatives completely disagree with the Affordable Care Act and believe that “Democrats used it as an assertion of power than they used it to improve health care conditions” (“Republican Views on Health Care”, 2014). They believe that the act was a waste of taxpayer’s dollars and would inevitably ruin our health care system. In contrast, the liberals supported the ACA and “pride themselves on the fact that health care costs are growing at the slowest rate since 1960” (“Democratic View on Health Care”, 2014). The liberals believe that every American should have access to health care by making premiums affordable. However, in order to do so …show more content…
Under President Obama’s administration, more than “16.4 million uninsured people gained health coverage” (“The Affordable Care Act is Working”, 2014). Voting records by party: The Affordable Care Act was definitely a Democratic piece of legislation. The Republicans “firmly opposed the act and not a single Republican voted for the final version that Obama signed into law” (“Republican Views on Health Care”, 2014). Republicans thought that this piece of legislation would ultimately cause the demise of our health care system. The U.S. Senate authorized the H.R.3590 bill by a vote of 60 to 39 (“H.R. 3590- Senate Vote #396”, n.d.). The U.S. House of Representatives authorized the H.R. 3590 bill by a vote of 219 to 212 (“H.R. 3590-House Vote #165”, n.d.). Furthermore, the bill was sponsored by Democrat Charles B. Rangel. It was co-sponsored by thirty-seven Democrats and three Republicans which are: X. Becerra, S. Berkley, E. Blumenauer, G. Brown-Waite, J. Courtney, J. Crowley, A. Davis, D.K. Davis, L. Doggett, B. Etheridge, B. Filner, A. Green, L.V. Gutierrez, B. Higgins, H.C. Johnson Jr., W.B. Jones Jr., S. Kegan, R. Kind, J.B. Larson, S.M. Levin, J. Lewis, J. McDermott, J.P. McGovern, K.B. Meck, W. Minnick, D. Moore, R.E. Neal, B. Pascrell Jr., G.C. Peters, T.R. Platts, E. Pomeroy, L.T. Sanchez, A.Y. Schwartz, I. Skelton, F.P. Stark, J.S.
Although division is seen between the political parties of the Republicans and Democrats, points exist to where lawmakers agree on the reform of healthcare. Lawmakers do, however, have three major points they agree. These points are the banning of underwriting by private insurance companies, providing federal funding to assistance low income families with securing insurance, and by accessing Medicare’s funding to its full advantage to reduce patients billing (Times Topics, 2009). While lawmakers have managed to agree on some points, by drafting a complete healthcare reform that is ethical. This will call for Congress to agree on a bill that fits President Obama’s views, requiring substantial research and planning.
He points out in his article, the act is not a government takeover of healthcare, a single-payer system, “Medicare for all,” nor does it include a health plan offered by a federal insurer. He claims these are the reasons there are “few champions on the left,” or in other words, a minority of Democrats supporting the act. A small amount of support going to the act from its own party is a strong indication that Obamacare’s policy is a conservative one.
While the Affordable Care Act itself was supposed to be a solution to the healthcare issues in current America, many are calling for a solution to the Affordable Care Act due to the fact it isn’t as effective as promised and hoped for. From its inception, as seen by existence of the Supreme Court trial, Republicans have said the solution to the act is to overturn and remove it. Republican candidates running for office at every level of government, from state legislator to President of the United States, has discussed their intent to overturn or work around the Affordable Care Act. While the majority of Republicans agree on a solution, Democrats are split on what is the best solution, if one is even needed, to the current Affordable Care Act. One of the most discussed solutions by Democrats is to build off the success of the
The discussion of Obamacare is on the lips of every Republican in the US Government. According to Sally Driscoll and Richard Grant, authors of “Counterpoint: The Free Market is More Effective at Improving Healthcare and Lowering Cost Than the Government”, the key to solving the non stop increasing cost of medical care and the number of citizens that are not insured is not a liberal payer (like single-payer) or even a non conservative (like total deregulation), but somewhere in the middle. The country needs a program that would broaden the competitiveness among the healthcare industry, and Obamacare will help every American
“The House of Representatives began the process of dismantling the Affordable Care Act on Friday, approving a budget resolution on a mostly party line vote.” (LoBianco, Tom, Deidre Walsh, and Tal Kopan. "House Takes First
The Affordable Care Act is one of the new policy that provides Americans with better health security by putting in place comprehensive health insurance reforms. It allows people to have expand coverage. Now a child can stay under his parents insurance until age 26. The ACA holds insurance responsible by dropping health care while guarantees more choices and enhance the quality of care. The ACA facilitates long-term care services to help people whom such care need receive it and to find ways to help make such care available not only in organizations but also in the public. They try to eliminate non-discrimination language that will restrict health insurance companies from discriminating against any health care provider. The ACA includes policies
The Kaiser Foundation’s studies indicate that, despite a forty-seven percent majority that has an unfavorable opinion of the bill, they want to reform it, not repeal it (Cohn par. 1). America’s population dislikes the ACA, but they generally agree that this country needs an affordable healthcare system. All the politicians who advocate for repealing the law do not represent the general public. Statistics from Olga Khazan show that seventy-four percent of Republicans want the ACA majorly reformed, not repealed (par. 2). That many Republicans want the ACA drastically changed rather than eliminated which means they want a better system. Unfortunately, many Republican politicians do not share these ideas. Achieving a good healthcare system could happen more quickly once everyone works together instead of against each
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was a major overhaul to the healthcare system, affecting both employers and employees. The ACA, along with rising healthcare costs, means employers have had to make changes in their healthcare plans and as a result, employees are seeing the affects, good or bad. As Fitzgerald (2014) points out, as the ACA gets closer to full implementation, more organizations will begin backing away from providing health care coverage. Part of the problem that organizations are facing in the future is the so-called Cadillac tax. As explained by healthaffairs.org (2013), the Cadillac tax is an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans and will mostly be paid for by the organizations. The tax, beginning in 2018, is a 40% excise tax on the cost of coverage for health plans that exceed a certain annual limit (healthaffairs.org, 2013). Because of this high tax, many companies are scaling back on coverage and finding ways to shift the cost to employees (Angle, 2014). The analysis presented will describe what ACA is, the problem GMFC faces, possible options, and finally, a solution for GMFC in this case.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” was signed into law March 23, 2010, by President Barrack Obama and has been at the center of highly and critical debate in healthcare coverage since than. The Affordable Care Act (AAC) purpose is intended to provide a large majority of uninsured Americans including those with insurance with reasonable and fair health care coverage that is affordable, adequate and accessible to high quality treatment and services. Although the AAC is not favored and embraced by all Americans, it has made tremendous efforts throughout the years to bridge those differences and make one of President Obama’s biggest achievements of his presidency a success by millions of uninsured Americans.
In today’s day and age, American households can all agree that health insurance is not a luxury, but a necessity. Without it, costs of emergency room visits and prescription medicines can be financially devastating. However, in the past many families and individuals have taken the risk of not being insured due to the high cost of the insurance itself. To attempt to reform this unfair system, the Obama administration signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010. The law, coined “Obamacare,” has received much opposition due to its expansion government programs and increase in spending. It brings to question how much the government should be involved in an area that for the majority of America’s history, has been
It has been stated that one of the largest benefits to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for those that were already insured, is that they may purchase insurance through a marketplace allowing for continuous coverage, regardless of life experiences such as a change in job. Even those that are young, and may not appreciate health insurance because they have coverage through their parents, will need insurance once of age that isn’t dependent upon an employer as they are more likely to change jobs more often. Those that purchase health insurance through an employer offered group coverage could be made to feel as though they are captive to a job in order to continue to receive the insurance that they are accustomed to. Subsequently, the ACA has made health insurance more affordable for those that earn a lower income, making group plans more expensive for individuals, overall.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 under the Obama Administration to make health coverage available to more Americans. According to Thomas Berg, a social researcher and law professor at St. Thomas University, It would have brought greater demand for health services. The increased number of health professions needed to provide those services would have motivated a younger generation to pursue a career in the medical field. The act would have raised the standard of living in America. Unfortunately a clause was added to the ACA in August of 2011 that would mandate the coverage of “Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity” be included all insurance policies (Berg). The mandate would not have been enacted until August of 2012, but religious groups came out in opposition immediately when news of the clause was released. The Catholic Church was one of the prominent advocates against the enactment of the mandate as contraceptive and sterilization methods are against their moral teachings. The government was forcing the coverage despite the objections of those wishing to practice their conservative faiths freely. The mandate stands as an intrusion of religious liberties and an attack on personal values.
On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act which is an Obamacare, is the United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) experienced many challenges, debates, and objections until the Supreme Court rendered a final decision on individual mandate healthcare insurance to uphold the health care law on June 28, 2012. The mandate healthcare insurance for workers by employers’ obligation through a regulated marketplace of health maintenance organizations was proposed by President Bill Clinton proposed a healthcare reform bill in 1993, comparing, healthcare insurance would have required by individuals but not employers were proposed by Republican. In the result, the Clinton plan failed amid an unprecedented barrage of negative advertising funded by politically conservative groups. Republican alternative which was the Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act contained a "universal coverage" requirement with a penalty for noncompliance—an individual mandate—as well as subsidies to be used in a state in 1993.
The origin of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) spans prior to 2010. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, universal healthcare was an interest in the United States. In 1993, First Lady Hilary Clinton discussed the Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act of 1993 as a proposal for universal health insurance for every citizen (Mertens, 2010). It was later killed by special interest groups before taking off in congress and deemed too complex (Cohn, 1994). Since President and First Lady Clinton proposal, various members of congress attempted other alternatives to the universal healthcare.
The Obama administration saw it wise to intervene by passing legislation that would salvage the situation in the country regarding the number of insured citizens. It would bring equality by ensuring all citizens covered, irrespective of their age, race, religion or ethnic background. To implement the new legislation, the government would have to raise more funds to cover a large number of citizens, with the targeted population being approximately forty-four uninsured Americans. To raise the funds, the government would have to raise more taxes to allow it to subsidize the cost of healthcare. The law also brought about new regulations to govern the insurance sector. For instance, young people were allowed to depend on their parents’ scheme until