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What is the problem with health care in America
What is the problem with health care in America
What is the problem with health care in America
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IV. Intro: Will Obamacare Succeed? A famous Greek physician named Herophilos once said, “When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied.” One of the most crucial issues challenging Americans today is the overwhelming rise in health problems. Serious health problems like obesity can create other ailments such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more than one-third (35.7%) of adults in the U.S. are obese and in 2008 their estimated combined medical bills totaled to $147 billion dollars; of that 35.7% of Americans, approximately 15.4% do not have health insurance. One of the biggest influences on the number of uninsured Americans is the outrageously high cost of health care. Compared to the rest of the developed world, the U.S. has dramatically higher healthcare costs as a percentage of GDP or on a per capita basis. The Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) reports that healthcare costs in other countries average $3,200 per person and nearly $8,200 per person in America. In response to this continuous issue, on Mar. 23, 2010 the senate approved President Barrack Obama’s bill entitled, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The purpose of this bill was to reduce medical costs while simultaneously providing every American access to health insurance. In order for the Obama administration to effectively improve health care is to consider all other governmental polices that will be directly and indirectly affected, whether it is positively or negatively. As with any new law, there are those who ... ... middle of paper ... ...y of the opposition is coming from the Sothern states. The second problem entails an interesting legal dilemma with this case is the challenges it received in the courtroom. Because this was such a controversial topic when initially proposed, there were various legal questions that had to be answered. The main question that needed to be answered was the new law constitutional. Mike Patton explains, “the Supreme Court ruled that as long as the non-compliance penalty is considered a tax, Obamacare does not run afoul of the Constitution. This is because Article One, Section Eight of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to collect taxes for the “general welfare of the nation.” Hence, Obamacare has become the law of the land. Coincidentally, this is the same position the Supreme Court took in 1937 when it ruled on the constitutionality of Social Security.”
The aim of affordable care act (ACA) was to extend health insurance coverage to around 15% of US population who lack it. These include people with no coverage from their employers and don’t have coverage by US health programs like Medicaid (Retrieved from, https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/). To achieve this, the law required all Americans to have health insurance which is a reason of controversy because, it was inappropriate intrusion of government into the massive health care industry and insult to personal liberty. To make health care more affordable subsidies are offered and the cost of the insurance was supposed to be reduced by bringing younger, healthier people to the health insurance system. This could be controversial, if older, sicker people who need the coverage most enter the market but younger group decline to do so. The insurance pool will be unbalanced and the cost of coverage will rise correspondingly.
v. Lopez (1995) continues to affect the judicial system to this day. This case is the precedent for many of the Supreme Court cases concerning the commerce clause. Following U.S. v. Lopez, the Supreme Court had many Affordable Care Act cases. In these cases, the powers of Congress, under the Commerce Clause, were again limited. The congressional powers were limited because the Court declared that the Affordable Care Act “did not license Congress to include in the PPACA a provision that required individuals to purchase health insurance”(Commerce Clause). The Affordable Care Act trials show that Congress cannot always make whatever law that they want, and they cannot use the Commerce Clause as an excuse or abuse its power. This case further proved the reasoning behind the decision in U.S. v
The case of King v. Burwell was based on an interpretation of the premium tax credits associated with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The suit claimed that only people participating in the state-run health care exchanges qualified for the tax credits according to the new health care statutes. Upon review by the United States Supreme Court, that claim and subsequent petition were rejected with the reason being that the case's understanding of the requirements for the premium tax credits was incorrect and the statute could stand as it is.
The topic that I am choosing to do is on Obama Care. I chose this topic because the idea of the government forcing people to obtain insurance is wrong in my eyes. I am interested in analyzing the validity for what has been said about this topic in order to increase my understanding about Obama Care. I am not an expert when it comes to Obama Care. I know that this is an insurance that is being provided through the government for the general public. I have read that President Obama never initially read the whole bill itself. I also know that people who cannot afford it, but make too much money to qualify for Medicaid are being heavily encouraged to get this insurance. Some of the common knowledge that I have found that the general public has about this subject is that some people are for Obama Care and think that it is a wonderful idea and that there are some people that are dead set against Obama Care. Younger adults, specifically college age and individuals that are in their twenties tend to be for Obama Care. The insurance is being forced upon individuals that may or may not want it. It also seems as though that the insurance being offered is pretty generic in terms of coverage. Some of the questions that I have that I believe will aide me in writing this paper would be the following: What are the pros and cons of Obama Care? What are the thoughts of Obama Care with the people of the government? As well as what are the basics of Obama Care?
Just mention the word "Obamacare" and a heated debate will start right away. The legal name of Obamacare is "the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA" (Tate 1). The law has over 2500 pages and many have not read the entire law (Tate 12). Democrat Nancy Pelosi made an infamous remark back in 2010 stating "that Congress '[has] to pass the bill so you can find out what's in it'"...(Roff). This law was signed in March of 2010 and has a 54% disapproval rating among Americans today (Amadeo). The main goals of the law are to offer healthcare to all Americans, stop the rising costs of insurance, increase the number of "consumer benefits and protection", and solve several other healthcare concerns (Tate 13-15). What are some of the pros and cons of PPACA, and is this law good or bad for our country at this time?
One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.
Healthcare has been a topic of discussion with the majority of the country. Issues with insurance coverage, rising costs, limited options to gain coverage, and the quality of healthcare have become concerns for law makers, healthcare providers and the general public. Some of those concerns were alleviated with the passing of the Affordable Care Act, but new concerns have developed with problems that have occurred in the implementation of the new law. The main concerns of the country are if the Affordable Care Act will be able to overcome the issues that plagued the old healthcare system, the cost of the program, and how will the new law affect the quality of the health delivery system.
There is an ongoing debate on the topic of how to fix the health care system in America. Some believe that there should be a Single Payer system that ensures all health care costs are covered by the government, and the people that want a Public Option system believe that there should be no government interference with paying for individual’s health care costs. In 1993, President Bill Clinton introduced the Health Security Act. Its goal was to provide universal health care for America. There was a lot of controversy throughout the nation whether this Act was going in the right direction, and in 1994, the Act died. Since then there have been multiple other attempts to fix the health care situation, but those attempts have not succeeded. The Affordable Care Act was passed in the senate on December 24, 2009, and passed in the house on March 21, 2010. President Obama signed it into law on March 23 (Obamacare Facts). This indeed was a step forward to end the debate about health care, and began to establish the middle ground for people in America. In order for America to stay on track to rebuild the health care system, we need to keep going in the same direction and expand our horizons by keeping and adding on to the Affordable Care Act so every citizen is content.
The United States (U.S.) has a health care system that is much different than any other health care system in the world (Nies & McEwen, 2015). It is frequently recognized as one with most recent technological inventions, but at the same time is often criticized for being overly expensive (Nies & McEwen, 2015). In 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.) This plan was implemented in an attempt to make preventative care more affordable and accessible for all uninsured Americans (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). Under the law, the new Patient’s Bill of Rights gives consumers the power to be in charge of their health care choices. (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.).
Health insurance, too many American citizens, is not an option. However, some citizens find it unnecessary. Working in the health care field, I witness the effects of uninsured patients on medical offices. Too often, I see a “self-pay” patient receive care from their doctor and then fail to pay for it. Altogether, their refusal to pay leaves the office at a loss of money and calls for patients to pay extra in covering for the cost of the care the uninsured patient received. One office visit does not seem like too big of an expense, but multiple patients failing to pay for the care they receive adds up. Imagine the hospital bills that patients fail to pay; health services in a hospital are double, sometimes triple, in price at a hospital. It is unfair that paying patients are responsible for covering these unpaid services. Luckily, the Affordable Care Act was passed on March 23, 2010, otherwise known as Obamacare. Obamacare is necessary in America because it calls for all citizens to be health insured, no worrying about pre-existing conditions, and free benefits for men and women’s health.
On March 23, 2010, President Barrack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into legislation. The bill was created to provide affordable and effective health care to all Americans. It has since provided tens of millions of uninsured Americans with affordable healthcare (“ObamaCare: Pros and Cons of ObamaCare”). While doing so, an estimated 31 million still remain uncovered as of 2016 (“Not ‘Everybody’ Is Covered Under ACA”). To this day, the health care plan has remained widely criticized and controversial. Many believe the Affordable Care Act has not done its duty and is unconstitutional to force healthcare upon Americans. Some of the people who share these views believe it isn’t the government’s job to provide welfare. They believe healthcare
In America the affordability and equality of access to healthcare is a crucial topic of debate when it comes to one's understanding of healthcare reform. The ability for a sick individual to attain proper treatment for their ailments has reached the upper echelons of government. Public outcry for a change in the handling of health insurance laws has aided in the establishment of the Affordable Healthcare Law (AHCL) to ensure the people of America will be able to get the medical attention they deserve as well as making that attention more affordable, as the name states. Since its creation, the AHCL has undergone scrutiny towards its effects on the government and its people; nevertheless, the new law must not be dismantled due to its function as a cornerstone of equal-opportunity healthcare, and if such a removal is allowed, there will be possibly detrimental effects on taxes, the economy, and poor people.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by President Barack Obama is a significant change of the American healthcare system since insurance plans programs like Medicare and Medicaid (“Introduction to”). As a result, “It is also one of the most hotly contested, publicly maligned, and politically divisive pieces of legislation the country has ever seen” (“Introduction to”). The Affordable Care Act should be changed because it grants the government too much control over the citizen’s healthcare or the lack of individual freedom to choose affordable health insurance.
The Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, is a new health policy created by the American federal government. Its purpose is to make healthcare more affordable and friendly for the people. Unfortunately in some way that does not prove to be the case. It is becoming apparent that Obama may have made some misleading statements to help get the ACA put into action. The ACA is sprinkled with many flaws that call for a reform such as people’s current plans being terminated, high costs, and at minimum some people’s hours being cut by their employers.
NYTimes. (2013). Analysis of the Arguments — The Supreme Court Health Care Challenges. Retrieved from nytimes.com: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/03/27/us/27scotus.html