The Purpose of Obama Care - Essay Example

Jon Berberich Dana Cotham HMD 402 - 1003 20 November Obama Care Introduction The term Obama Care is used to de a federal level statute thatwas made part of the law of United States after Barack Obama, the president of the nation enacted it during the period of 2010. The purpose of enacting this law was to provide the citizens of America with increased accessibility of healthcare. The law was even enacted to make healthcare more affordable for the citizens and to ensure that the overall increase in healthcare expenditure is curbed. Since its enactment, the law has been heavily criticized and supported due to its benefits and disadvantages for various stakeholders. The various benefits offered by the act includes the increase in the number of people who can access healthcare, healthcare insurance coverage for those who cannot obtain coverage on their own and various other benefits. On the other hand the law has several disadvantages such as increased financial burden on employers, conflicts with religious beliefs and other negative effects. Body Advantages Of Obama Care When Obama Care Act was signed into law, there were more than 32 million individuals without insurance coverage (The White House 1). Due to lack of health insurance coverage, these individuals were being charged higher prices for healthcare services and this was leading to increase in the government’s expenditure on healthcare. As a result of Obama Care Act, these individuals will be able to obtain healthcare services at discounted prices and the government spending on healthcare will even decline. The act has made it obligatory for insurance providers to include ten essential advantages in their healthcare insurance policies and these benefits would help in furthering the wellbeing of the citizens of United States. These ten benefits are to be offered on no yearly dollar limits that are levied by insurance providers. These plans should cover for care that is to be offered to those citizens who are not admitted, care for health issues that need immediate treatment or else these issues can even lead to death, care for females who are experiencing pregnancy and care that is to be provided to the newly born children (Obamacare Facts 1). Furthermore, these benefits include coverage for all drugs that have been prescribed by physicians, coverage for therapies that help individuals recover from physical impairments such as loss of communication skills, coverage for tests that are conducted on patients in laboratories, coverage for obtaining medical treatment to prevent development of diseases and even coverage for health issues experienced by children who are in their teenage and below. The act even ensures that healthcare services are provided to even those individuals who do not have money to purchase insurance coverage as these individuals will be added to the list of those who obtain assistance from Medicaid. The act has even elevated control over insurance companies since they can be sued for not providing coverage. It even offers low cost healthcare services to individuals who age below 26 as these individuals are covered through their parent’s insurance plan (Muns 95). Organizations that are employing less than 50 individuals do not need to abide by the rules of Obama Care Act. The act has even projected that since its healthcare spending will decrease, it will help the government in decreasing its debt by $143 billion by the period of 2020 (Muns 89). Disadvantages Of Obama Care The Obama Care Act requires the insurance companies to provide ten essential benefits that have been outlined in the advantages sections. 30.1 million Insurances that were being purchased by individuals privately had to lose their current insurance coverage and had to subscribe for new ones (Millman 1). Due to this they had to pay higher premiums to the insurance companies because their new insurance plans covered those areas of healthcare that they did not need. Obama Care Act requires organizations to purchase insurance for all their employees and if they don’t, they are allowed to escape by paying a small penalty. Due to this employers are being encouraged to not to cover their employees and find and use the alternative of paying the fine. Another issue is that that the Act has levied a tax of $95 during the period of 2014 and $325 during the period of 2015 (HealthCare.gov 1). These taxes have been levied on those who have not attained health insurance coverage and may not even fall in the category of those individuals who qualify for Medicare. Due to this a total of 4 million individuals will end up paying increased taxes due to the Act. A major disadvantage associated with the Obama Care Act is that it is motivating physicians to quit their careers and look for work in other careers and professional segments. Nelson authored an article in which the author cited a survey that was conducted by the Doctor Patient Medical Association (DPMA) (Nelson 1). The survey helped in identified that around 83% of the physicians are willing to pack their bags and leave their careers due to Obama Care Act (Nelson 1). Another major issue with the Obama Care Act is that it is shifting the control of the healthcare system from the hands of private governance to government based governance. Due to this government will have access to more information that was not available before and will continue to elevate the citizens’ concerns about the way their information will be used by the government. Another issue is that government plans to provide equal quality care to all citizens due to which those who can afford premium healthcare services will not be able to access such services even if they want to. Impact Of Obama Care Act On Hospitality Industry The hospitality industry comprises of several small businesses that earn quite low and were previously benefiting from not providing insurance for their employees. These firms mostly comprise of more or equal to 50 individuals. Due to the Obama Care Act, all these small business will be required to purchase insurance coverage for their employees and due to this their operational costs will increase and their profits will decline. In order to counter this issue and increase profits, these small businesses will decrease their number of workforce to maintain a workforce of less than 50. They will even hire more part time employees who are paid less than the full time employees. In turn, those who were supposed to benefit from this Act will end up suffering consequences such as low paid employment and even unemployment. Due to this I, being a student in the field hospitality and tourism will even fail to find full time employment after I graduate from my college. I will have to work in low paid positions or I will have to obtain part time employment. The organizations that may decrease their workforce to maintain a workforce of less than 50 individuals will face the issue of law suits being filed against them. Employees may file law suits as they will believe that they have been fired for no reason or they may be suing the employers claiming that the employer is biased towards them. Conclusion Obama Care Act was enacted during the period of 2010 with the purpose of providing healthcare benefits to those who could not afford it and to decrease the healthcare expenditure of the government. The Act has various benefits associated with it including the increase in number of people covered with health insurance, low priced healthcare facilities for those who could not afford it, inclusion of free insurance coverage for children on their parent’s insurance plans and motivating organizations to provide medical coverage to their employees. The Act even has various negative outcomes associated with it including loss of current insurance plans, increase of the financial burdens of organizations, increased government expenditure, lack of motivation of physicians to continue with their practices and loss of jobs since organization try to avoid falling in the category of those who have to comply with the Act. Works Cited HealthCare.gov,. Individual Mandate Penalty You Pay If You Dont Have Health Insurance Coverage. N.p., 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.< https://www.healthcare.gov/fees-exemptions/fee-for-not-being-covered/> Millman, Jason. Health Care Data Breaches Have Hit 30M Patients And Counting. Washington Post. N.p., 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. Muns, Alexandre. Ethical Capitalism. [Bellcaire dEmpordà, Girona]: Aresta, 2011. Print. Nelson, Sally. Report: 83 Percent Of Doctors Have Considered Quitting Over Obamacare. The Daily Caller. N.p., 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. Obamacare Facts,. Obamacare Facts: Facts On The Affordable Care Act. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. The White House,. The Affordable Care Act Helps America’S Uninsured. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. Read More