Introduction
In 2010, one of the most memorable events took place in the US healthcare system. President Obama approved the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, in order to provide all Americans with appropriate health insurance coverage. Many Americans accepted this idea as one of the most generous governmental solution ever made. Still, some Americans cannot understand the reasons for such generosity and try to find what can be wrong with the act. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of ObamaCare will be discussed in order to comprehend if this Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Essence of ObamaCare
The ACA of 2010 is a well-known achievement of the Obama administration within the frames of which it is possible to increase health insurance and reduce the costs that are necessary for citizens to cover their losses on healthcare (Oberlander, 2012). The political environment has been changed considerably during the implementation process. A number of debates took place to support and oppose the ideas of ObamaCare. The Republicans did not want to support the Act because it could cost a lot to the US economy, promote the impact of regional differences, and neglect the frauds of that had been already observed in Medicare (Jones & Bradley, 2014).
On the one hand, ObamaCare was a powerful political and medical solution that could considerably improve the quality of a human life and provide people with the possibility to reduce the costs and protect their health. On the other hand, the conditions under which ObamaCare could be implemented and justified were not clear, and people could not understand whether the benefits could prevail over the costs that could be spent (Obamacare facts, n.d.).
Advantages and Disadvantages of ObamaCare
One of the most evident positive aspects of ObamaCare that can be observed is a chance for a number of uninsured people to get high-quality health insurance and get access to healthcare that has not been reachable before. Medicaid is expanded so that many Americans can use their possibilities to address the hospitals they want. The improvements of Health Insurance Marketplace create the conditions under which out-of-pocket costs may be covered with the help of insurance (Obamacare facts, n.d.). Certain changes can be observed in the spheres of small business and employment market. Full health coverage is offered to the company with more than 50 full-time workers. Healthcare opportunities of young people and children are also changed so that more of them can use insurance regarding insurances of their parents.
Despite the Americans has achieved a lot of positive changes, there are several aspects that continue challenging the country in different spheres of life. For example, it is necessary to comprehend that insurance cannot be offered for free. New taxes had to be introduced in order to affect the individual and employer mandates directly. Americans have to fill in a certain form online in order to use the exemptions available (Obamacare facts, n.d.). Insurance companies should have the resources so that they can cover the costs that should be spent on sick people with free insurance. The only method that can be used to achieve profit is the increase of everyone’s insurance. In other words, free insurance of one group of people is partially paid by another group of people.
ObamaCare and the US Healthcare System
Taking into consideration the effectiveness of ObamaCare, it is not actually correct to believe that it can be the answer to the current US healthcare system. The point is that US healthcare is challenged by three main problems: inabilities of many people to pay for their insurance, costs for health care are rising dramatically, and the quality of health care offered to people is not as high as it is expected to be (Wilensky, 2012). ObamaCare promotes some changes to the solution of the first problem only. Two other problems remain to be open. There are no intentions to change the price policy on health care and treatment. Medical organizations do not want to improve the quality of their services without having any significant profits. Therefore, the quality of health care can hardly be improved in a short period of time. However, the fact that more people are able to get access to free insurance can become the reason for why so many medical organizations, healthcare centers, and hospitals decrease the quality of their services. Their salaries have not been changed, but the amount of work has undergone considerable changes.
Conclusion
In general, ObamaCare is the act that has proven the possibility to change the conditions under which healthcare can be offered. More people get an opportunity to improve their health and raise healthy children. Still, it is hard to guess the actual costs that have to be spent on such improvements regularly. Therefore, the ACA should not be the last step to improve the US healthcare system. It should become the first step that motivates various governmental and private organizations to contribute to American healthcare and help people in need to improve their health.
References
Jones, D.K. & Bradley, K.W.V. (2014). Pascal’s Wager: Health insurance exchanges, Obamacare, and the republican dilemma. Journal of Health Politics, 39(1), 97-137.
Obamacare facts. (n.d.). ObamaCare facts: Facts on the affordable care act.
Oberlander, J. (2012). The future of Obamacare. The New England Journal of Medicine, 367(23), 2165-2167.
Wilensky, G.R. (2012). The shortfalls of Obamacare. The New England Journal of Medicine, 367(16), 1479-1481.