Pros And Cons Of Healthcare Reform

Healthcare reform continues to be a highly debated and controversial topic. In this review I will strive to compare the strengths and differences between the ACA and the Senate repeal and reform bill currently being debated. The first area of difference between the two plans has to do with access. Namely, that under the senate bill there will be significantly fewer insured Americans. The congressional budget office (CBO) estimates that the senate bill will result in 22 million fewer people having health insurance over the next decade (Levey & Kim, 2017). This loss of coverage will primarily affect low and moderate income Americans, those lease suited to pay to healthcare. The second issue with access is that under the ACA the federal

The senate bill also eliminates the ACA Medicaid expansion completely by 2024 (Levey & Kim, 2017). Another concern I see with access is that under the ACA there is a requirement to have health insurance or be assessed a penalty. The Senate bill eliminates the penalty associated with not have health insurance. Eliminating the penalty will encourage healthy Americans to not carry health insurance coverage thereby, those who do carry coverage will represent a sicker portion of the population hence causing insurers to increase premiums to cover the increased expense associated with insuring sicker or higher risk individuals. The final significant difference with regard to access has to do with preexisting conditions. The ACA established that individuals could not be denied coverage based on preexisting conditions, that being sick does not mean insurers can change more, annual or lifetime limits are not allowed and that there is a limit of 3 times more that the elderly can be assessed over younger individuals. While the senate bill does not eliminate coverage, states can seek waivers and would be

Under the ACA plans individuals receive subsidies based on their income level and the cost of obtaining insurance in their area and the nice part is that the subsidies are connected automatically to the individual’s monthly insurance bill so there is no waiting for refunds (Levey & Kim, 2017). The senate plan will also link subsidies to individuals based on their income but would stop at 350% of the poverty level compared to the current 400% (Levey & Kim, 2017). Subsidies under the senate plan would also be tied to less comprehensive health plans, so individuals would receive less overall benefits. So basically, insurance premiums under the proposed senate plan will be less expensive than under the ACA, but the plans will cover less and will require a higher out of pocket amount for many of those