The Obamacare Act - Essay Example

The Obamacare or Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were the most ambitious program adopted by the Obama administration in the health sector. This is meant for health care reforms in the United States. This act came into force in 2010. The health care plan includes a large number of reforms. These reforms will cater to Americans without proper health insurance (ProQuest, n.d.). Moreover, the reforms grant more rights to Americans who struggle to obtain health insurance through the current system (ProQuest, n.d.). In addition, it seeks to reform wasteful spending and health care programs that are obsolete. In this care program, Americans will have an opportunity to seek medical attention not considering their preexisting conditions or income. There is also the expansion of Medicaid in Obamacare. This will be in terms of adding new benefits such as increasing coverage, curbing fraudulent activities, minimizing costs, and improving care for patients (Pipes, 2010). The cost of Obamacare will increase tremendously in the coming years. The congressional budget office (CBO) projects it to cost around $1.1 trillion over the next ten years (Pipes, 2010). Obama care also affects businesses and jobs. It will help small businesses under 25 full-time employees ensure employees (Pipes, 2010). On the other hand, employers with over 50 full-time employees will have to pay a percentage of their employee’s health care or a penalty (Pipes, 2010). This paper explores the pros and cons of Obamacare effectiveness and its consistency with the constitutional framework of federalism.
There are various advantages of the Obama health care plan. First, the act reduces the overall healthcare cost by making services available to people who had no access to insurance (Chrumbelievable, 2012). Such people initially often used the hospital emergency rooms as the primary care with increased medical costs. This will be a relief to such people. In addition, it is a relief to those who cannot afford health insurance. This is because the federal government will pay the state to incorporate them into Medicaid (Chrumbelievable, 2012). Secondly, for those who fail to qualify for expanded Medicaid due to low income, the state will be compelled to set up insurance exchanges to alleviate the burden of getting private health insurance coverage (Chrumbelievable, 2012). Thirdly, those with preexisting conditions like children will not be denied insurance coverage. Additionally, insurance companies will not drop anyone from the cover once they become sick (Chrumbelievable, 2012). Moreover, parents can now put their children on their health insurance coverage up to 26 years old (Chrumbelievable, 2012). This will be advantageous to insurance companies because they will get more premiums at a lower cost for covering healthier individuals. Equally, small businesses are spared by this care while large businesses are only required to offer health insurance but receive tax credits to help employees pay premiums (Chrumbelievable, 2012).
On the other hand, Obamacare also has disadvantages. First, the increased coverage is likely to raise healthcare costs. This is because a large group of people will receive preventive care and testing without establishing whether they had a critical illness (ProQuest, n.d.). Secondly, drug cost is likely to increase in the future as pharmaceutical companies are forced to pay over $80 billion in fee for closing the “donut hole” (Pipes, 2010). Some businesses may be discouraged to hire new employees. For example, medical device manufacturers and importers are required to pay a 2.35 excise tax (Pipes, 2010). There is also the likelihood of tax being raised in the majority of the population.
Obamacare is consistent with the constitutional framework of federalism. This is because the enactment of Obamacare preserved state sovereignty (Democrat, 2012). Although it had numerous stringent federal mandates, the state had maintained substantial authority to decide Medicaid eligibility (Democrat, 2012). The state is also allowed to determine the scope and duration of coverage and has the freedom to discontinue participation in Medicaid if not comfortable with the terms and conditions contained in the program. Read More