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Universal Healthcare: The Pros and Cons

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Universal Healthcare: The Pros and Cons On March 23, 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed by President Obama, raising the question for many of whether this new law was going to be more helpful or hurtful. With universal healthcare, healthcare coverage would be increased tremendously, costs would be reduced, jobs would be created, and consumers would be protected. Conversely, it will also raise taxes and wait times, lead to a smaller number of doctors, and infringe on some employers’ 1st amendment rights. Presenting both arguments for and against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allows one to draw a conclusion on whether the new program will benefit or hinder the citizens of the United States. …show more content…

It was stated earlier in this paper that big businesses would benefit from this law; however, the exact opposite is true for small businesses. Businesses will be forced to provide healthcare for their employees or pay a fine, something they may not be able to afford. This may result in employees’ hours being cut or even the termination of the employee (“ObamaCare”). The PPACA will also have a direct negative impact on the medical field as a whole. By 2025 there is expected to be a shortage of nearly 52,000 physicians. This, coupled with the number of office visits increasing over 100 million times, will put incredible strain on the healthcare system (“The Patient Protection”). This will cause wait times for medical treatment to be greatly increased. Patients will be more likely to go to the emergency room for minor treatments, such as coughs due to colds, thus causing patients with real emergencies to wait even longer. Also, there will be no competition for patients. This competition is what encourages health care workers to excel in their specialties and to become better. This may even cause fewer people to choose to pursue a career in the medical profession (Ireland). One of the more controversial arguments against universal healthcare is the effect it will have on known religious-based businesses. As stated earlier, with the PPACA businesses will be required to provide health insurance for their employees that would include

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