The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was introduced to the healthcare sector in 2010. Signed into law by President Obama, one of the goals of the passage of this healthcare reform act was to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. This reform affected all aspects of the healthcare market, including employer-sponsored health insurance (ESHI). One of the objectives of the ACA is to provide a means to insurance coverage for all, especially for those who were previously not eligible for ESHI. The ACA will now require “medium and large employers to offer health insurance coverage to full time workers or pay a penalty” (Merlis, 2011).
The majority of America receives their health coverage from their employers. Along with the new ACA requirements, Medicaid expansions and tax credits are assisting low-income families in purchasing affordable healthcare coverage (Merlis, 2011). Employers also benefit from these new ACA requirements by being granted exemption from Federal, State, Social Security and Medicare taxes. This means if an individual were to enroll in the health insurance coverage plan
…show more content…
By choosing to be covered under ESHI, your coverage is subsidized by the tax system. This suggests that individuals are most likely to not only enroll in coverage through their employer, but also purchase more insurance than they normally would, because of this tax subsidy (Morrisey 2014, pg. 263). According to Gruber (2011), the third largest government expenditure on health care is due to employer-sponsored health insurance not being subject to federal, state, social security and Medicare taxes. Conversely, this current health reform seems to increase subsides for small employers and reduce subsidies for high-premium plans. This, according to Miller (2013), type of plan tends to “confer the largest benefits on higher income families that are most likely to be insured or covered by public