The Faults in The Affordable Care Act Essays

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.

What is Obamacare? “Obamacare is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The name was created by critics of President Obama's efforts to reform health care, but it stuck. Even President Obama likes it, because he says it shows he does care.” (Amadeo, N.d) In short, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a policy in which you are required to obtain medical insurance if you do not already have any, or be subject to a tax. The most easily argued aspect of the bill is constitutionality and this is where the question of government overstepping biblical principles comes into play. “By passing Obamacare, the small minority of elected men known as Congress put the state and themselves over and beyond their sole duty as a ministers of justice, and put themselves in a sovereign position over the lives of Americans.” (Necerato, 2013).

The affordable care act (ACA) or the Obama health care reform has been a topic of great concern in today’s health care. In March 23rd 2010 President Obama signed the health care legistration (Obama Care) into law. The passage of the law affected different many issues in the lives of Americans. Socially, it was a great law due to the facts that individuals that cannot afford health care would have access to health care regardless of preexisting conditions and young adults benefits in staying longer under their parents insurance until age 26. Hence, economically, depending on the side of the table the individual chooses (republican or Democrat) there will be an increase in national debt because more people will be eligible for Medicaid (The National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, 2012). According to Root (2012) the so-called Obama health care reform will be a tax imposed on the citizens of the United States, because it obliges people to actually buy insurance provided by the government, which is in a big violation of the commerce clause or the individual mandate threatens the foundation of contract law. American contract law rest on the principle of mutual assent. For example, if I hold a gun to your head and force you to sign a contract, no court of law will honor that document since I coerced you into signing it. Mutual assent must be present in order for a contract to be valid and binding (Markham, 2002).

After the inception of ACA that is Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010 various policies and regulations has been proposed which has more controversy (www.healthcapital.com, 2013). Affordable health act has impact on the stakeholders in different manner. The main concern in the medical field is the input cost which is increasing continuously. This is the biggest challenge for the US government as the increasing cost makes it impossible for the government to allocate appropriate resources in managing the requirements of the ACA public policy. There are more initiatives taken by the US government in implementing the ACA in an appropriate manner by continuously improving the quality of health care at affordable lower costs

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

It takes very little to disrupt the slow but steady healing progress our nation has undertaken in the wake of the financial crisis of seven years ago. As President Barack Obama once said, by signing the Affordable Care Act into law, “everyone should have some basic security when it comes to their health care” (Stolberg, Sheryl Gay) . Something as influential as a universal health care bill is no exception to delicate recovery the United States economy has undertaken over the past several years. As in the Affordable Care Act’s name, health care should be affordable for people of all tax brackets. While many are concerned of the repercussions this health care bill will not only have on employment opportunities but also higher taxes,

The ACA also introduced certain incentives for applying for insurance such as subsidies as well as mandates that penalized those who refused health insurance with a tax. However, for those individuals who would see at least 8% of their income go towards insurance, are exempt from the penalty. The law requires insurance providers to accept any applicants and prohibits discrimination from preexisting conditions or sex. It also requires that insurers provide all patients with ten essential health benefits. Provisions also prevent insurers from subjecting preventive care and vaccinations and to co-payments. Annual and lifetime coverage caps on the aforementioned essential benefits were also banned by the ACA. The Centre for Disease Control reported a steep drop from 16% to 8.9% in individuals lacking health insurance from 2010 to 2016. States that chose to expand Medicaid had roughly a 7% uninsured rate compared to those that did not expand. Despite the positive effect of the ACA, it is not without its demerits, Conservatives in particular took offense at the increase in both taxes and insurance premiums needed to expand coverage to those with prior conditions as well as benefits. Several new taxes help provide funding for Obamacare such as those on pharmaceutical sales, as well as the higher income bracket. Thus there is opposition with the fact that the wealthy are in part subsidizing insurance for the poor.

The Affordable Care Act is the new health reform law that was signed into action on March 23, 2010. The Affordable Care Act attempts to reform the healthcare system by providing Americans with affordable health insurance. It helps put individuals, businesses, and families in control of their own healthcare. By the sound of it, it really looks like this is something that will positively impact the lives of Americans, and make it easier for individuals to obtain health insurance. Unfortunately, what many Americans are unaware of is that there are so many underlying issues that make the Affordable Care Act not so affordable. Issues such as penalties and taxes that certainly rack up the cost on individuals, businesses and even hospitals that make it difficult for people and businesses to be in “control” of their health care.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as ObamaCare, is a healthcare reform law that focus on providing more Americans with access to affordable health insurance. “The ACA is expected to add 32 million people seeking primary and preventive service and treatment” (journalofnursingregulation.com). It was first enacted by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The act has offered a number of people with benefits, set up a place they can purchase health insurance, expanded the use of Medicaid and Medicare to the disabled and senior citizens. The Act has forced many employers to offer coverage to their employees. Despite all of the positive attributes this act has provided, there is a flip side to it. Americans are required to have health

Healthcare is one of the critical problems throughout history and caused an increase in costs. More than 46 million of peoples are uninsured and are dealing with the problem of being uninsured which cause an increase of costs. The lack of people without insurance coverage don’t have access to care and are less likely than those with insurance to receive preventive care and services for major health conditions and chronic diseases. Those without healthcare insurance also face unaffordable medical bills when trying to seek care. Most of the uninsured people are due to being in the low-income working families’ bracket, and family that has an income below 200% of poverty. The proposal is to decrease the number of uninsured through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to provide Medicaid coverage to many low-income individuals in states that expand and Marketplace subsidies for individuals below 400% poverty. The resolutions would to examine the appearances of the uninsured people, and summarize the admission and fiscal suggestions of not having coverage and to develop the coverage and to add consumer protections, control healthcare costs, and improve the healthcare delivery system.

The purpose of Obamacare is to give Americans access to an affordable health care plan. The new law in 2014 is that everyone in the United States must have some type of health care plan. Americans who do not have a health care will have to pay a price on their tax return. The price is, “one percent higher than your income for the year or ninety five dollars per person in your household, whichever is higher.” (Long) This may not matter for some people, but others are having problems with that fact the price will also go up every year. “In 2015 it will be two percent of your income or three hundred and twenty five dollars per person in your house,

The Affordable Care Act has already created much history within the five years since it was passed into law. On March 23, 2010 The Affordable Care Act was passed into law (Clemmitt, “Health-Care Reform”, 505-28). With it came many new laws and regulations regarding health insurance. The law says that United States Citizens must buy health insurance unless one is enrolled on Medicaid or Medicare. If they choose not to buy insurance, they will face a fine that is adjusted to your income (Clemmitt, “Health-Care Reform”, 505-28). The Democrats, who mostly support the law, argue that the law will insure 32 of the 45 million people in the United States who are uninsured by expanding medicaid, providing subsidies to lower and middle class families to make insurance more affordable, and regulating insurance markets where people without employer sponsored insurance can buy subsidized coverage (Clemmitt, “Health-Care Reform”, 505-28). The Republicans, who mostly oppose the law,

The Affordable Care Act, in other words “ObamaCare” has been a train-wreck of a bill that was rushed into law in March of 2010. This law is the basis of the 2008-2012 Democratic-lead government’s platform that would end up securing the 2012-2016 elections for them. This law was not, pushed so fervently to help the nation, as much as it was to help re-election bids. I believe that the Affordable Care act should be repealed, but not necessarily replaced. The whole principle of government mandated and managed health care is inherently flawed, as to do so, the government must lay out blanket regulations and requirements on both insurance companies and the common citizen, that in a lot of ways aren’t beneficial to

In 2009, the Affordable Care Act passed a provision that expanded Medicare coverage to include certain individuals with diseases caused by environmental health hazards (EHH). While there are many potential diseases caused by environmental health hazards, the legislation intended to cover people who developed asbestos related disease (ARD) following exposure in a vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana.1 The provision was included in the ACA with the help of Senator Baucus of Montana, who had a role in writing the health care law.2 The goal was to increase benefits for this new category of Medicare-eligible individuals. The three components of the legislation were the expansion of Medicare benefits, the development of a pilot program, and the initiation of grants to establish screening programs for the early detection of diseases caused by environmental health hazards.1

This is where Congress’ power to tax comes in. Article 1 Section 8 of the US Constitution states that, “the Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imports, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imports, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States”. Although it is not upheld that Congress can use its power to require that everyone buy health insurance, it was agreed on by majority vote that the penalty imposed on those who do not buy a healthcare plan is a tax that Congress can impose by using its power to tax. With this, it is understandable that while Obama cannot make anyone buy insurance, he can penalize them for it in the form of a tax. According to the U.S. government, since the Affordable Care Act was passed, 16.4 million Americans have gained health insurance. However, 13% of adult Americans still lack coverage (Patient’s Rights Council). Many people are actually choosing to pay the tax rather than spend a large amount of money for insurance that they do not want, but there is another problem with that option. Although the tax is only $95 (or 1% of the family income, whichever is greater) after a year of having not enrolled in a healthcare plan, the penalty rises to $325 (or 2% the family income) the next year and $695