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The Unintended Consequences of the Affordable Health Care Act
Strengths and weaknesses of the affordable care act as a reform to the existing u.s. healthcare system
The impact of the Affordable Care Act on healthcare
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The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare; but, at the same time, it ruled that under the new health law the Federal government can’t withhold funding to states that decline to participate in the expansion of Medicaid. As a result, the expansion of Medicaid, a Federal-state program that provides health care for over 60 million low-income Americans, is now considered optional. The consequences of this decision are significant. Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion would have covered nearly half of America’s uninsured citizens, and this will now leave many of the nation’s poorest without health insurance. But the Supreme Court’s action hurts more than the less fortunate among us. If states decide to opt-out of Medicaid expansion – and, so far, it appears that 26 states and the District of Columbia will expand Medicaid; 21 states will not expand Medicaid; and four states are considering expanding Medicaid – everyone’s health insurance costs will almost certainly continue to rise. Here’s one of the reasons why: doctors and hospitals provide billions of dollars in unpaid medical care to the uninsured each year. The providers then pass much of this cost on to private insurers, who, in turn, pass it on to their customers in the form of higher premiums. Not expanding Medicaid would also cause many hospitals to suffer. That’s because some hospitals now receive extra payments for providing care to people without insurance. When Obamacare was passed, hospitals agreed to accept cuts in these payments. If almost everybody had insurance, as the law envisioned, hospitals could afford to take those cuts. Without the expansion of Medicaid, however, hospitals will still have to provide care to lots of uninsured patients, but they... ... middle of paper ... ...te between 2014 and 2019. The funds would increase incomes for all types of health care service providers – including hospitals and their employees, doctors and nurses, nursing homes, and medical suppliers. Health care providers and businesses would spend large portions of their revenues and salaries in the state’s local economies. And, as a result, Medicaid expansion would create 18,000 jobs in all parts of Tennessee’s economy between 2014 and 2019. In closing, it’s important to note that Medicaid has been successfully expanded before. And, when New York, Arizona and Maine expanded the program between 2000 and 2005, according to a Harvard study, "rates of uninsured residents dropped, access to care improved, and more people reported being in very good or excellent health." Most importantly, though, the coverage saved a total of 2,840 lives a year in these states.
One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.
Due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law on March 23rd, 2010; health care in the US is presently in a state of much needed transition. As of 2008, 46 Million residents (15% of the population) were uninsured and 60% of residents had coverage from private insurers. 55% of those covered by private insurers received it through their employer and 5% paid for it directly. Federal programs covered 24% of Americans; 13% under Medicare and10% under Medicaid. (Squires, 2010)
When it validated the constitutionality of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2012, the United States Supreme Court also ruled that states could decide for themselves whether or not to expand their Medicaid programs (Sonfield, 2012). Predictably, South Carolina said no. The Palmetto State’s decision not to expand Medicaid in concert with the Affordable Care Act was wrong, and it is time to correct that mistake.
By doing well in school, going to college, and receiving a high paying job it comes with good healthcare coverage. Without healthcare, hospitals are less likely to assist people. The reason is because of their uncertainty that the uninsured will be able to afford to pay for the service on time or even at all. Obama in his speech says, “This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don 't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.” Obama is saying that because of political influences on hospitals those who do not have insurance are forced to wait until there is a chance they might be treated. The reason that they are uninsured is because they cannot afford it. Since insurance is controlled by companies who will not provide fair rates to those who have medical conditions or do not have a job. Robert Pear a writer for The New York Times says, “From 2013 to 2014, the bureau said, the overall rate of insurance coverage increased for all racial groups and for Hispanics, who may be of any race. The increases were comparable for blacks, Asians and Hispanics (just over 4 percentage points) and lower for non-Hispanic whites (about 2 percentage points).” Even though this is 6 years after the speech by Obama it still shows that healthcare is still a problem in America, but
The Affordable Care Act promises the public access to health coverage. Many of the people who d...
Under the Affordable Care Act one of the most important provisions is to expand health care to low income families through Medicaid. This could have an effect on over eight million people who do not have access to health care currently. However 25 states have decided against expanding Medicaid benefits, leaving 13.5 million people less likely to receive basic health care and preventative ...
The Consequences Of Obamacare [Electronic Resource] : Impact On Medicaid And State Health Care Reform : Hearing Before The Committee On Energy And Commerce, House Of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, March 1, 2011. n.p.: Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 2011., 2011. Louisiana State University. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Implemented (along with Medicare) as a part of the Social Security Amendments of 1965, Medicaid’s original purpose was to improve the health of the working poor who might otherwise go without medical care for themselves and their families. Medicaid also assisted low income seniors with cautionary provisions that paid for the costs of nursing facility care and other medical expenses such as premiums and copayments that were not covered through Medicare. Eligibility for Medicaid is usually based on the family’s or individual’s income and assets. When the ACA came into effect in 2010, it began to work with the states to develop a plan to better coordinate the two ...
Above all, if all states have decide to follow through ObamaCare's Medicaid Expansion they will conjointly pay $76 billion to insure up to 21.3 Million individuals who don't have access to health insurance for over the next decade. Regardless of what state, the federal government will help pay for 93% of the state cost of healthcare. Medicaid Expansion is a great way to help families below the federal poverty line get insurance and stay healthy. Without it, they will fall between the cracks forcing them to use Obamacare. In that case, it is projected to drive up cost of insurance for Americans.
Until Obama-care, The United States was one of the only developed nations that did not provide some sort of health care for its citizens. To most other nations that do provide healthcare, it is because it is considered a human right that all people should be entitled to. That hasn’t been the case in America, however, where only those who could afford it could have healthcare plans. Those who stand to gain the most from universal healthcare are the already mentioned 45 million americans who currently don’t have any form of healthcare. For many of these individuals, there are many obstacles that prevent them from gaining healthcare. 80% of the 45 million are working class citizens, but either their employer doesn’t offer insurance, or they do but the individual can n...
...ple less than or equal to 133% of the FPL, starting 2014 eligibility will be expanded to people that are 138% or les of the FPL. Also the expansion will cover more parents and expand to adults who are childless. Fore states that choose to accept the expansion this means that they will have to cover more individuals in their Medicaid programs. The government will provide 100% funding for the first 3 years of the Medicaid expansion; thereafter the states will have to figure out how they will fund the program with the absence of federal funding. The stipulation with expanding Medicaid that after the three years are up the state cannot modify the program to not cover the expanding individuals. States that in financial ruins before the ACA, now with the expansion they will need to find alternative ways that will serve the same purpose as Medicaid in order to lower cost.
In 1965 President Johnson signed both Medicare and Medicaid programs into law (Nile, 2011). According to Medical news today, “Medicare is a social insurance program that serves more than 44 million enrollees as of 2008” (MediLexicon International Ltd, 2011, para2). It cost about $432 billion or 3.2% of GDP, as of 2007(par2).Medicare is broken down into parts, Part A is hospital Insurance Part B is medical Insurance, and Part D is Medicare prescription drug coverage (medicare.gov). Like we previously stated Medicare is a health insurance for people who are 65 and older, people under 65 with certain disabilities, and people of any age with End- Stage Renal Disease. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program of medical assistance for low income persons (Benefit.gov). It is administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) and Illinois Department of Public Aid (IDPA). Medicaid serves about 40 million people as of 2007; it cost $330 billion, or 2.4% of GDP, in 2007.(par.2) “In Illinois you may be eligible for Medicaid if you are a child, pre...
The author identifies some of the federal and state legislators that are also opposed to the Medicaid expansion in the writer’s district. US Senator John Cornyn says that the Obamacare Medicaid expansion program is formed to be wasteful, fraudulent, and abusive to the nation (Cornyn, 2010). According to US Senator Cornyn, “The $3.4 trillion federal taxpayers spend on the Medicaid program is a target for waste, fraud, and abuse. Instead of fixing these problems, the President’s new health care overhaul includes the largest expansion of the broken Medicaid program since its creation in 1965: it’s only going to get worse from here” (John Cornyn, 2010).
In order to fully understand the uninsured and underinsured problem that hospital administrators face the cause must be examined. The health outcomes of uninsured individuals are generally worse than those who are insured. Uninsured persons are more likely to experience avoidable hospitalizations, diagnosed at later stages of disease, hospitalized on an emergency or urgent basis, and more seriously ill upon hospitalization (Simpson, 2002) Because the uninsured often lack an ongoing relationship with a health-care provider, they are less likely to receive preventive care and diagnostic tests (Kemper, 2002). Many corporations balance their budget through cost cuts and other moves, but have been slammed with an increasing load of uninsured patients, coupled with reduced payments from government and private insurance programs. In 2000, 564,476 uninsured patients came through Health and Hospitals Corporations health care centers, a 30 percent increase from 1996. In the same period, Congress reduced Medicare reimbursements to hospitals, while Medicaid reimbursements to primary care clinics remained basicall...
Medicaid is a broken system that is largely failing to serve its beneficiary’s needs. Despite its chronic failures to deliver quality health care, Medicaid is seemingly running up a gigantic tab for tax payers (Frogue, 2003). Medicaid’s budget woes are secondary to its insignificant structure, leaving its beneficiaries with limited choices, when arranging for their own health care. Instead, regulations are set in order to drive costs down; instead of allowing Medicaid beneficiaries free rein to choose whom they will seek care from (Frogue, 2003)