Affordable Care Act improves health-care system

Monday, October, 1, 2012; 10:41 PM | 20 | | Print

by Ryan Pfeifle, regular columnist

The United States currently sits with an international ranking of 37th in the world for healthcare. But with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act earlier this year, it is well on its way to improving health coverage and moving up among other nations.

The bill was a main focus for President Obama’s agenda during his term, and this legislation reflects his health-care policies. This reform has strengthened our health-care system as a whole, with national health-care spending and premiums rising at a much slower rate than before.

There are roughly 50 million people in the United States who are uninsured — 16.3 percent of our national population.

With this reform, every single American will be guaranteed health coverage. Not only that, but this bill also protects Americans against insurance companies by eliminating discriminatory practices often used by insurance agencies.

For the population as a whole, the bill no longer allows insurance companies to cancel policies if someone becomes sick, deny coverage to anyone with preexisting conditions, charge people with preexisting conditions a higher cost, or charge women more than men.

The legislation bans lifetime caps, meaning there cannot be a limit on the amount of money an insurance company will pay out in medical benefits over someone’s entire life, and it also ends annual limits on coverage. Insurance companies are now also required to provide preventive care coverage on all new private health plans, free of charge.

Young adults benefit in several ways. The bill extends coverage for young adults until they reach the age of 26, allowing them to stay on their family’s health plan until that age. Insurance companies also cannot provide fewer benefits to adult children still on their family’s plan, nor can parents be charged more for adult children than younger children on their plans.

Senior citizens benefit greatly from the Affordable Care Act, and this bill does indeed help Medicare. This healthcare system strengthens Medicare by cracking down on fraud, abuse, and waste, adding eight years to the expected solvency of the Medicare trust fund. Similarly, crackdowns in 2010 and 2011 resulted in $5.4 billion being returned to Medicare.

The bill lowers out of pocket prescription medication costs, improves long term care services, and protects the private information of senior customers in order to protect them against identity theft. Additionally, new Medicare advantage plans cannot charge more than original Medicare pays for certain services, and seniors qualify for annual wellness visits and different types of screenings at no extra cost.

Small businesses receive benefits, as well. Some states will offer plans, called exchanges, tailored to meet the needs of smaller businesses. These exchanges, provided to businesses with up to 100 employees, offer a wide range of coverage plans, and they are required to provide essential medical benefits. Tax credits will be available to these businesses to aid in paying for health insurance for employees, and the bill creates grants to help these businesses provide workplace wellness programs.

There are of course issues that have come along with this bill, such as the requirement of businesses and institutions, with the narrow exception of strictly religious institutions, to provide contraceptive coverage to employees, and the taxation aspect of this bill.

There is also a stark contrast between this policy, and that of presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who advocates for a voucher health-care and social security system. That policy would not, however, adequately protect American’s against insurance companies and could likely lead to a less regulated health-care system, which may result in lower quality healthcare and higher costs.

President Obama’s healthcare policy greatly benefits the American society as a whole, and it will prove to be an excellent reform for America in the long haul. Everyone should examine this topic, as well as the presidential candidates’ health-care ideas and policies to learn more about health care in America.

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.

Leave a comment 20 Comments Write a letter to the editor

TheTruth | # October 2, 2012 @ 3:39 PM — Flag Comment

At what cost? I don't think there's any disputing that the bill is "good" policy, in the sense that it will likely reduce costs and increase coverage. Yet there's no disputing that the mandate (or "tax") vastly increased government power, with the Supreme Court ruling by the Roberts' court setting a very dangerous precedent. Regardless of whether or not such authority is used again, the fact that the government can essentially tax whatever it wills in the name of policy should be worth noting, at the very least, in analyzing the impacts of the law.

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Medicare Professional | # October 2, 2012 @ 4:05 PM — Flag Comment

Of all the reason's Obamacare will not work in the long run, of which there are many, there is one major issue that stands out. Obama is addressing the wrong problem.

The real problem with the healthcare industry is not the health insurance companies, it's the providers and pharmaceutical companies charging exorbitant prices for service. Rx is one of the most profitable industries in the world, with average profits around 20% of revenue, and you don't truly believe that getting that cough diagnosed incorrectly and prescribed antibiotics at the doc is really worth the $400 bill that doctor is charging for 10 minutes of face to face time.

By attacking health insurance, Obama is creating a govt monopoly by forcing major insurance comapnies to merge to be able to gain bargaining power over hospitals and to be able to afford Rx prices. Trust me, you don't want a trillion dollar oligopoly when Obama goes out of office and the major insurance companies regain control. If you just lower the expenses of service, insurance companies could lower prices and everyone would win, except the doctors/pharmacists who are laughing all the way to the bank.

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Anonymous | # October 3, 2012 @ 8:12 AM — Flag Comment

Lol! What a joke of an article. No sources or counter arguments???

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Anonymous | # October 4, 2012 @ 2:12 AM — Flag Comment

The problem is the monopolistic aspect of both the insurance and health providers' industries. They are both natural monopolies, few sellers, many buyers. The management of the major insurers are in virtual cahoots over premiums and terms The providers have similar arrangements.

At least the ACA will put the major insurers in a more competitive position through the exchanges and other aspects of the act. Most will benefit. Those having an adjusted gross income of less than 400% of the federal poverty level will be the winners, but Christ, that's about $88,000 a year for a family of four. Even at this income level, one's premium will be limited to 8-9% of your AGI, which I'm quite sure is less than what they're spending now unless they have some unrealistically special deal. i

On any given day you and I are taking in the shorts by one or both of these monopolies. What's wrong with taking them on one at a time if the political climate will not allow both? Besides, the ACA is essentially a shifting of the monopoly power into the hands of the consumer, acting through their government, and out of the hands of the other two parties, where it has traditionally resided. If there has to be a monopoly, let the people have it for crying out loud.

Get onboard and support this. Your alternative is unwittingly play into the hands of those who are just fine with the status quo.

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Anonymous | # October 5, 2012 @ 11:35 PM — Flag Comment

A single payer-style healthcare system would certainly moderate premiums and deductibles and balance service costs.

Unfortunately, with the Democrats moving to the center under Obama and Republicans becoming more extremist, compromise always leans to the right. Healthcare overhaul wasn't an exception. The Democrats promoted the 1994 GOP proposal supported by prominant conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation. Forcing poor people to purchase private insurance coverage to support everyone else is not socialism by a long shot. Clearly this reinforces the for-profit mindset and undermines capitalist sustainability. Many liberal Democrats opposed Obamacare/Romneycare when it was introduced, notably Dennis Kucinich and Alan Grayson, but of course the main voices of dissent that were actually listened to were so-called Blue Dog Democrats, their version of a RINO (do RINOs exist anymore?), the ones who famously derailed

And this is everyone's fault. Both Republican and Democratic parties for further indenturing us to Big Business and for everyone who claims that voting third party wastes a vote. You know why? NO third party candidate supports the old or updated health care system in this country. That's true for Jill Stein of the Green Party all the way across the political spectrum to Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party.

You have a choice until you feel obligated to vote for something you don't hate quite as much as something else.

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Anonymous | # October 5, 2012 @ 11:37 PM — Flag Comment

*derailed over abortion access

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diablo 3 gold | # October 22, 2012 @ 10:32 AM — Flag Comment