A Brief Look at Obamacare: The Affordable Care Act

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The Affordable Care Act (a.k.a Obamacare) has been an extremely controversial topic recently. It has sharply divided politicians and the public. Republicans and conservatives want to see it repealed, while Democrats and liberals enthusiastically defend and promote it. The opinion of the American people, however, has been more difficult to gauge. Recently, both politicians and the public have been outraged by the disastrous opening of HealthCare.gov and insurance companies dropping millions of clients. President Obama suffered a major blow both to his credibility and popularity as a result. His promise that people could keep their health insurance if they wanted to turned out to be false. In this paper, I want to examine some of these issues and what they mean for health care reform. Specifically, I want to see how it affects businesses. First of all, why did the healthcare system in this country need reforming? There were tens of millions of Americans without health insurance. The main reason was that it was so expensive. If your employer did not provide it, you had to pay for it yourself or be uninsured. These uninsured people did not have regular access to healthcare, because paying out of pocket, even just for a check-up, was expensive. Another problem was that people with preexisting conditions, or serious medical problems, could not get coverage. These were just some of the problems that existed. That is why the ACA was passed. It ensured that all Americans would be able to afford insurance. It made it illegal for insurance companies to turn away anyone with a preexisting condition. Those who could not afford insurance on their own would receive government subsidies to help pay for it. Under the new law, all businesses... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited: “Flaws in the Affordable Care Act.” The Washington Post. 10 Feb. 2014. 2 March 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/diagnosing-the-affordable-care-acts-flaws/2014/02/10/cf7f26ea-91c9-11e3-b3f7-f5107432ca45_story.html Kessler, Glenn. "Is Obamacare a Job Killer?" The Washington Post. 26 Feb. 2014. 12 March 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact- checker/wp/2014/02/26/is-obamacare-a-job-killer/ Krugman,Paul. “A General Theory of Obamacare.” The New York Times. 26 Feb. 2014. 12 March 2014. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/a-general-theory-of-obamacare-fiction/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 Nather, David. "How Obamacare Affects Businesses Big and Small." ' Politico. 30 Sept. 2013. 12 March 2014. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/how-obamacare- affects-businesses-large-and-small-97460.html

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