Health Care: The Challenges Of The Affordable Care Act
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4 Pages
The debate about providing health insurance for everyone is a heated debate. Personally, I do not think that people have a right to health insurance, but everyone should have an opportunity to gain health insurance, if they prefer. The previous system of delivering healthcare was in desperate need of reformation, but the approach of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is too drastic and has strained an already stressed system. As a country, programs should be put into place to help the disabled, elderly, poor and working poor gain access to healthcare at rates that are affordable to their current situation. One of the biggest advantages of having access to healthcare is that people are able to seek medical care about health issues when the problem
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The ACA was expected to address spending through better utilization of healthcare services in order to save money through the Medicare program. “Although the administration talks about making Medicare more efficient, three separate reports by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have concluded that the pilot programs and the demonstration projects that are supposed to find these efficiencies are not working” (Goodman, 2015, para. 30). The only program that has uncovered inefficiencies is the Medicare Advantage program, but policy makers are moving forward with cuts in subsidies for this program (Goodman, 2015). Both Medicaid and Medicare are relied upon for health insurance for the disabled, elderly, poor and working poor and is a cornerstone for the ACA. The inadequacies of both programs fail to provide the healthcare services needed by the populations served by the system and leaves a large group of the U.S. population still …show more content…
The current law does not sufficiently address financing such a large program and places a financial burden upon the public, states, and the federal budgets while falling short in delivering the healthcare services that were promised. By requiring all individuals to have health insurance, people that do not need extensive healthcare indirectly finance healthcare for people that utilize the services extensively. Alternative and innovative approaches should be explored to offer different types of care to fit each individual’s needs and finances. Insurance companies should be given incentives (including tax breaks) to provide health insurance to offer different services for low income or disabled people. Employers should be able to offer their employees the types of health insurance that they wish without facing penalties for providing high levels of health insurance. Alternatively, small businesses and businesses that have numerous part-time workers should be offered incentives (including tax breaks) or cooperatives in providing health insurance for their staff. Policy makers, insurance companies, employers, healthcare providers, and the public should work together to develop innovated ideas to improve the healthcare system. While any system put in place may not meet the needs of the entire nation, a multi-point approach could improve the current healthcare
The ACA was expected to address spending through better utilization of healthcare services in order to save money through the Medicare program. “Although the administration talks about making Medicare more efficient, three separate reports by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have concluded that the pilot programs and the demonstration projects that are supposed to find these efficiencies are not working” (Goodman, 2015, para. 30). The only program that has uncovered inefficiencies is the Medicare Advantage program, but policy makers are moving forward with cuts in subsidies for this program (Goodman, 2015). Both Medicaid and Medicare are relied upon for health insurance for the disabled, elderly, poor and working poor and is a cornerstone for the ACA. The inadequacies of both programs fail to provide the healthcare services needed by the populations served by the system and leaves a large group of the U.S. population still …show more content…
The current law does not sufficiently address financing such a large program and places a financial burden upon the public, states, and the federal budgets while falling short in delivering the healthcare services that were promised. By requiring all individuals to have health insurance, people that do not need extensive healthcare indirectly finance healthcare for people that utilize the services extensively. Alternative and innovative approaches should be explored to offer different types of care to fit each individual’s needs and finances. Insurance companies should be given incentives (including tax breaks) to provide health insurance to offer different services for low income or disabled people. Employers should be able to offer their employees the types of health insurance that they wish without facing penalties for providing high levels of health insurance. Alternatively, small businesses and businesses that have numerous part-time workers should be offered incentives (including tax breaks) or cooperatives in providing health insurance for their staff. Policy makers, insurance companies, employers, healthcare providers, and the public should work together to develop innovated ideas to improve the healthcare system. While any system put in place may not meet the needs of the entire nation, a multi-point approach could improve the current healthcare