Analysis of the Affordable Care Act - Essay Sample

Introduction

The Affordable Care Act, which is otherwise known as Obama care, is a comprehensive healthcare law that was enacted on 23rd March 2010 by the 111th Congress of the United States and signed into law by former President Barack Obama. The aim of the Act is to ensure that healthcare insurance was made affordable for all people as well as ensure the protection of the consumer. It also aims to increase the program of Medicaid to cover all grown-ups including those beneath the federal level of poverty, as well as expand the workforce in the health sector, and support innovative medical care methods that will reduce the cost of healthcare.

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Among the ways that the Act will accomplish its purpose is by requiring employers to cover their employees and for those who are not employed or directly benefit from employers are covered by the Individual insurance policy. The Act will also ensure that Medicaid is available to those who are below the poverty line; it will also ensure that there are insurance plans for young adults on their parent's policies (NCSL, 2011).

The Affordable Care Act is split into two categories; that is, the employers and the individual. Under the employer's category, employees are covered by their organisation, however, the rate of the cover depends if the organisation is small or large. Small organisations have less than 50 full-time equivalent employees, while large organisations have more than 50 full-time equivalent employees.

On the other hand, the Individual category applies to those who are not employed or those who are dependent on employed persons hence they are not covered by the employer of the individual is dependent on. Those in this category will need to have their own plan or benefit from the individual shared responsibility plan (Listo Tax Solutions, 2013).

The Impact of the Affordable Care Act

Impact on Politics

The Affordable Care Act sparked different and varied reactions from political players in America. A large section of the Conservative was against the Act, which they termed as unconstitutional. The obvious reason for their opposition of the Act, despite the good it brought, was that it will put a heavy tax burden on Americans. In December 2018, following an agreement between Republican governors and legislatures of 20 states, the Act was unconstitutional when Congress eliminated the duty fine for the uninsured (Cummings, 2018).

President Donald Trump has been vocal in his opposition towards the Act especially on the section Individual insurance and its provisions. His determination in undoing all that President Obama achieved has hampered with any positive progress in policy making that would further improve the ACA (Sommers & McDonough, 2018). The Act has survived several lawsuits, however, increased efforts to repeal and replace it intensified in 2017. It can, therefore, be said that the Act has not yet achieved political stability unlike other previous laws such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

Impact on the Socio-Economics

Due to its political instability, as mentioned above, the Affordable Care Act is also facing insecurity in its economic viability. Because of this instability, there has been a negative impact on the health insurance markets as insurers are not certain of the benefits they will have. Heavy investment by insurers could result in massive losses if the Act is repealed. This will also affect those taking up the insurance as the rates will drastically and dramatically go up.

In addition to that, under this Act, people will now have to pay higher premiums especially for those who already had health insurance in place. There will also be increased taxation so as to cater for the ACA and this will be imposed on medical device and pharmaceutical sales. Those earning higher incomes are also being taxed more so as to help fund the insurance of the poor. Another possible negative impact is that employers may cut down on the working hours of its employees so as to avoid pay insurance for them. However, it is believed that in the long-term, the ACA might have a positive impact.

Impact on Religion

The impact of the ACA on religion has been neglected, however, a lot of people are benefiting from it. Pastors and those who work in the church, particularly smaller churches, initially struggled to find health care coverage. A majority of small churches do not offer benefits such as health insurance, thus the ACA gave them an opportunity to be covered under the small employee category or even under the individual category.

Impact on Health

The impact of the ACA on the health sector cannot be denied. It has allowed for more Americans to get access to quality health insurance, which is also affordable. A major milestone is that people with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and cancer can now be covered by the insurance with no time limits, a policy that was not there before. The ACA also ensures that parents cover their children's medical coverage through their insurance plans until they attain 26 years. It also allows for individuals to have insurance covers on preventive care, including contraception (Roland & Kim, 2015).

Conclusion

The Affordable Care Act is without a milestone reform in America's health sector in recent years. Its core purpose to provide quality and affordable health care insurance to all Americans is without a doubt, noble. However, the Act has faced great opposition especially from political players, including current US President Donald Trump. Despite this, the Act still has huge popularity and has proven resilient to the many lawsuits that have surrounded it. As it is still in its infancy stages, the Act still has a long way to go and further improvements on its policies and enactments need to be put in place.

References

Cummings, W. (2018, December 17). A federal judge has ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. So now what happens? Retrieved from http:// www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/17/what-next-affordable-care-act/2330715002/

Listo Tax Solutions. (2013, September 24). Affordable Care Act...Simplified. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG36BqB4Dec

NCSL. (2011, March). The Affordable Care Act: A Brief Summary. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/the-affordable-care-act-brief-summary.aspx

Roland, J., & Kim, S. (2015, June 15). The Pros and Cons of Obamacare. Retrieved from http://www.healthline.com/health/consumer-healthcare-guide/pros-and-cons-obamacare

Sommers, B., & McDonough, J. (2018, January 16). Searching For Stability: The Political Future Of The Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from http:// www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20180109.96810/full/