Affordable Care Act Pros And Cons

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a “comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010 (sometimes known as ACA, PPACA, or “Obamacare”). The law has three main objectives: make affordable health insurance available to more people, expand the Medicaid program coverage, and support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally.” (Affordable) There was extensive controversy and argument over the ACA bill when it was presented to lawmakers; “conservatives objected to the tax increases and higher insurance premiums needed to pay for Obamacare. Some people in the healthcare industry are critical of the additional workload and costs placed on medical providers. They also think

Pros of the plan include: an increased number of insured citizens, more affordable health insurance, and individuals with preexisting conditions can no longer be deprived of coverage. “More than 16 million Americans obtained health insurance coverage within the first five years of the ACA. Young adults make up a large percentage of these newly insured people”. An augmented amount of insured citizens will optimistically lead to an overall healthier country; more affordable healthcare has offered additional people the capability to register for coverage they may have not been able to afford beforehand. Before the healthcare reform, most citizens with pre-existing conditions were denied coverage because insurance companies refused to add those individuals to their risk pool. “A pre-existing condition, such as cancer, made it difficult for many people to get health insurance before the ACA. Most insurance companies wouldn’t cover treatment for these conditions. They said this was because the illness or injury occurred before you were covered by their plans. Under the ACA, you cannot be denied coverage because of a pre-existing health problem”. (Pros) This new law imposed by the healthcare reform gave a myriad of individuals tranquility knowing they could never be denied coverage, especially when they needed it

“Since its creation in 1997, the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), which is the way doctors are reimbursed, has been the source of frustration for doctors and politicians. Congress decided that year that physician spending should be limited if it outpaces the rate of economic growth. So, every year, Congress overrides its own rule because they worry that doctors won't take Medicare patients if the payments are too low”. (Kennedy) This gray area for physicians is very frustrating, so modifications should be made to correct this hindrance. The “family glitch” is the constraint that an individual must have health coverage via employment or the marketplace, but the insurance plans are only tiered for either singles or families. This causes a substantial fissure for people that are single parents or only want insurance for particular inhabitants in their household; the creation of a more customized marketplace with plans that can be individualized for each type of family would alleviate many of these issues. Another improvement for the Affordable Care Act would be to make pricing more transparent; individuals using the marketplace should be able to plainly see what each plan will cost, and what certain procedures are