Affordable Care Act Essay

In 2010, President Obama celebrated a landmark piece of legislation that he labored dutifully to get through Congress during his first years in office. This legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), represents more than just a policy on health care in the United States. The new law, which took full effect in the subsequent years, reformed the health care system in the United States, notably requiring the vast majority of Americans to hold qualifying health care coverage. Those citizens lacking an adequate health insurance policy for any part of the year incur a tax penalty collected by the IRS via the tax return process (IRS, 2016). According to Weil (2016), of the Library of Economics and Liberty, fiscal policy is the government influencing the economy with taxes or government spending. Hence, the ACA utilizes a fiscal policy to influence the economics of health care, namely attempting to heighten coverage among Americans and change the dynamics of the health insurance in this country. In this case, lawmakers did not see reform on the supply side of insurance as enough and opted to create an additional tax on individuals to increase demand for coverage. Furthermore, the ACA imposed a tax penalty on certain businesses if those organizations do not provide a proper level of healthcare offerings to their

I studied John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism in an ethics class a few years back and from a 30,000-foot. view, this position makes sense. After all, shouldn’t the government maximize the health and well being of the greatest amount of people? Taken to its conclusion though, utilitarianism can lead to policies that disrupt the individual freedoms so valued by Americans and their Constitution, freedom ideals heavily influenced by philosophers like John