Affordable Care Issues

There are many issues when it comes to healthcare, and the overall healthcare system. Issues such as healthcare being affordable, accessibility, access to donor organs, end of life care, and appropriate staffing levels have been discussed extensively. With so many issues, deciding which is the most important has been of continued political debate at the expense of the people of the United States. It may often be difficult to delve into the many opinions that people have regarding the healthcare system, and our access to affordable healthcare. I feel that there are many improvements that need to be made to healthcare, to include the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and its need to remain affordable. The ACA has been a national debate for the

The ACA outlined such benefits as being able to stay on a parent’s insurance until the age of twenty six, being covered for preexisting conditions, low cost medical insurance coverage, and improved access to healthcare (Glied & Jackson, 2017). This was a good start, but many of those insured have now seen a decline in their choices of insurance plans, and a rise in their insurance premiums by as much as twenty five percent (Auerbach, 2017). To assist with the increasing cost of insurance coverage for those at poverty level, the Internal Revenue Service offers a refundable tax credit to consumers with income up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level. The 2016 poverty level for an individual is $12,060 annually, and increases as the number of people in the household increases (Statutory interpretation- patient protection and Affordable Care Act, 2012). Though the refundable tax credit does assist with the costs of healthcare, it is a refundable tax credit. This means that the insured will not receive their refund until the following year when they file a

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, a young person in their mid twenties to mid thirties had only a five percent chance of incurring medical costs of at least $27,000 in 2011. The probability they would end up with a bill that exceeded $13,000 was much less, at ten percent (Bernard, 2013). If they decided not to purchase health insurance, the penalty that would be: “individuals pay whichever is more: $95 or 1 percent of the portion of their modified adjusted gross income that exceeds the federal income tax filing threshold of $10,150. So, in 2014, an uninsured person with an income of $50,000 would pay a penalty of about $400. Someone earning $100,000 would pay about $900. The fine rises each year until it hits $695 per adult or 2.5 percent of income in 2016, according to CCH, a tax and accounting service” (Bernard,