The Affordable Care Act Creates Tax Concerns And Opportunities

President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010. This law puts in place widespread health insurance reforms that expanded out over the last 4 years and continues to change the lives of many Americans today. Health care reform has been an extensively debated topic for multiple years, and the ACA is the first effective attempt at passing a law aiming to make health care not only affordable, but accessible for all individuals. The law impacts many Americans including, children, employers, government programs which includes federal and state, health plans and private insurers, health care coverage, health care cost, and the quality of care received. The main goal of the law is to expand health care coverage, broaden Medicaid eligibility, minimize and regulate health care cost, and improve the health care delivery system. In order to improve the health care delivery there have been new consumer protections established and an increase access to affordable care.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a topic of dispute since its introduction and continues to be discussed by politicians in the U.S. and throughout the world even after its passage. The Act has many opponents and is the cause of much controversy nationwide, primarily because it introduces higher healthcare costs for the richest citizens. Nevertheless, the ACA is an important stage in the American healthcare development process as it not only allows more people to receive healthcare services, but will also reduce the deficit. However, not everyone agrees. The policy is controversial in terms of cost vs. benefits, but the benefits ultimately outweigh the costs.

Large populations of Americans are uninsured mainly because of the high cost of insurance. Majority of the uninsured are the low-income working families’. The adults represent a higher percentage of the uninsured than children. Before the law, you could be denied coverage or treatment because you had been sick in the past, be dropped mid-treatment for making a simple mistake on your application, hence, the Affordable Care Act was implemented into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barrack Obama to make sure that every American irrespective of their status will be insured and have full access to proper health care benefits, rights and protection(1). To understand the

The Affordable Care Act has made many positive changes for uninsured and underinsured citizens. With the addition of a program called Health Insurance Marketplace, it is now possible for uninsured people in every state to purchase private insurance plans, those making under 400% or less of the Federal Poverty Level will be able to have tax credits making insurance more affordable (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014). Insurance companies are no longer allowed to cancel a policy or raise rates when a client gets sick. Insurance companies cannot refuse coverage to individuals with preexisting conditions such as cancer (“Quality Improvement,” 2015). Insurance companies now must cover preventive care and screenings allowing diseases like cancer to be caught early (“Quality Improvement,” 2015). Research has shown that through health screenings

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is a healthcare program created by president Obama’s administration. The goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make sure every United States citizen has health insurance. The Affordable Care Act provides “affordable” health insurance plans to citizens that do not have any and make about $15,000 a year. While the idea of providing health insurance to the millions of American’s that cannot afford it is great, everything comes at a cost. According to Emily Miller, Obamacare is causing people’s health insurance premiums to rise by around 1 to 9 percent (Miller 15-15). Not only are insurance premiums rising, but ever since the Supreme Court declared the Affordable Care Act constitutional approximately 20 tax hikes have been approved (Battersby). All the aforementioned reasons are helping pay for Obamacare. Although providing health insurance for people that cannot afford it is important, the Affordable Care Act should be revoked because it will hurt the economy.

President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, into law on March 23rd 2010. Congress had tried for decades to pass health care reform, beginning with President Franklin Roosevelt. “Following President Obama’s inauguration, he used Democrat control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate to enact health care reform legislation, and granted the federal government control of over 16% of our nations economy” (Taylor 3). The law states that every American citizen is mandated to purchase health insurance. “If you choose not to obtain Health Insurance by January 2014, you will be penalized $95, or 1% of your income-whichever is greater” (Taylor 5). “The penalty rate for non-compliance will

The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, was passed in March 2010. This over-1000-page Act implements a number of reforms designed to increase the availability of health care for individuals. The Act created a Health Insurance Marketplace, a universal way to sign up for subsidized health care plans (which are cheaper), though you can only get certain plans from certain places, including an expanded Medicaid. It also creates an incentive to purchase health insurance-if you don 't, you 'll have to pay a fine, which is interpreted by many as a tax. Additionally, the Affordable Care Act requires sizable firms to provide a certain level of health care to all of their employees, with certain specifications. Obamacare also attempts to make health care cheaper for many, by trying to even out the cost for everyone.

The Affordable Care Act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), commonly called "Obamacare," is a federal statute that was signed into law in March of 2010 (PDF, n.d.; Van de Water, 2011). It basically requires the vast majority of people in the United States who do not have insurance coverage to acquire that coverage or face penalties. People who already have insurance through their employers or on their own will not be asked to change companies. Additionally, anyone who is on federally-funded insurance such as Medicaid or Medicare and still qualifies for those programs will not be removed from their insurance. They will still be covered and protected. In order to find out more about the Act and really understand its main points and principles, however, it is very important to be aware of how it became a law and any changes that have taken place to it from its inception all the way through where it is today. Only then can a person have a clear understanding of the Act and form an opinion as to the value it may (or may not) provide to the American public. There is still much speculation and a great deal of misunderstanding about the Act and what it involves.

The Affordable Care Act is one of America’s many insurance plans to attempt to lower costs and provide a wider coverage for citizens all over the country. It is a widely controversial topic in America; especially within the past year. Although there are some people out there who support it, there are also those who base their campaigns on getting it repealed; Donald Trump is a prime example of this. When instituting this policy, Obama had very good intentions, but he was far from fulfilling his intended purpose. Today, the ACA has many flaws that affect Americans both as a whole and individually. Obamacare has raised costs for individuals, contributed even more money to America’s debt, is the complete opposite of what President Obama said it would be, it takes away civil liberties, and puts new standards on patients.

In February 2017, the news was dominated by stories and video of town hall meetings with constituents telling their representatives stories of how the ACA had benefitted them or their loved ones in one way or another (Colliver, 2017). There is no doubt that the law has helped thousands, maybe even millions of people across the country. There have also been stories of individuals who have health insurance, but are unable to use it because of high deductibles, which effectively render the insurance policies these people hold emergency only plans (Luhby, 2016). This is most certainly an unintended consequence of a law that was written with good intentions, but which needs to be modified to work with the real life situations the citizens of this country are faced with.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23rd, 2010 by President Barack Obama. This radical health care law was a much-needed step in comprehensive health insurance reform. Three important features of the Affordable Care Act are 1. Improving quality and lowering health care costs 2. New consumer protections and 3. Increased access to healthcare. (Key Features. 2014). Under the umbrella of these three key features additional benefits include free preventive care, drug discounts for senior citizens, increased protection against health care fraud, small business tax credits, increased access to health care through the health insurance marketplace, consumer assistance, and non-discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.

According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2012 the percentage of people without health insurance was of 15.4 percent. The percentage of people covered by employment health insurance was of 54.9 percent or 170.9 million. The percentage of people covered by Medicare was of 15.7 percent or 48.9 million. The percentage of uninsured children under age 18 was of 8.9 percent or 6.6 million (De Navas-Walt, 30). One of the mandates under the ACA is the individual mandate. This mandate requires that most Americans obtain health insurance by March 31, 2014 (“ObamaCare Individual Mandate", n.d.). Another mandate under the ACA is the employer mandate. Under this mandate, the ACA requires “all businesses with over 50 full time equivalent employees to provide health insurance for their full-time employees” ("ObamaCare Employer Mandate", n.d.) The ACA has also created a health insurance exchange also known as the Marketplace. This Marketplace allows the public to shop and compare different insurance plans side-by-side by guaranteeing the best deal as the prices are regulated by this law. Uninsured Americans will be able to get free or low cost health insurance through the State’s Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicaid has been expanded up to 15.9 million men, women and Children below 138% of the poverty level. ("ObamaCare | Health Insurance Exchange", n.d.).

Obamacare may be one of the most debatable topics at the moment ever since 2010. For those who are still confused on what Obamacare is and how it works is understandable and common amongst Americans. Obamacare is also known as the Affordable Care Act. It can be summed up as a law that ensures every American has access to health insurance that is affordable and within their budget. This is done by offering people discounts on government-sponsored health insurance plans, and by expanding the Medicaid assistance program so they include more people who can’t afford health care. In order for someone to qualify for Obamacare they must have an insurance plan that covers at least ten essential services that pertain

The ACA requires insurers to accept all applicants, cover certain conditions, and charge the same rates despite one 's sex or pre-existing health status. There are ten provisions that make up the ACA which were to be implemented over time, from 2010 through 2020. The first provision is individual insurance, which prohibits insurers to deny coverage based on one 's pre existing health conditions. States were also required to make insurance available to children who are not insured through their families. Medicaid was also expanded to include individuals and families with an average income of thirty thousand dollars a year. This mandate will not cover those who are illegal immigrants, eligible individuals who choose to not be enrolled in medicaid, those who choose to pay the penalty, individuals whose insurance would cost more than 8% of their income, and those who live in states that opt out of the medicaid expansion.

Obamacare, officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Plan, is reforming the healthcare industry and the American health care system: Even though this reform was developed to give America and more rights and protections within the healthcare system, many are saying it is taking their rights within the healthcare system away. The healthcare reform is said it will help tens of millions who are uninsured but many Americans are seeing Obamacare as a threat related to having the government force them into purchasing insurance or paying a penalty for not having insurance. “The law requires all Americans have health insurance by 2014 (or pay a per month fee for each month without minimum essential coverage). Although this shared responsibility provision is unofficially called an individual mandate, it was ruled to be in fact a tax and not a mandate by the June 28, 2012 Supreme court ruling.” (http://obamacarefacts.com/obamahealthcare-summary/, 2015). A total of 54% of Americans in a recent poll say they are against