Affordable Care Act - Essay Example

The Affordable Care Act was enacted in March 2010, and its implementation was set to continue for a number of years (Murdock 9). The Act is informed by the dire need for health-related reforms in American society. Health insurance has essentially captured governmental interest in the country, especially in relation to making it affordable for the majority of Americans if not all. On the same note, the Act has been designed to address health security for the American people. Health insurance reforms through the Affordable Care Act entail expanding coverage, enhancing the accountability of insurance companies, lowering health care costs, guaranteeing more insurance choices for consumers, and enhancing care quality for the entire American community (Murdock 21).

Health care consumers stand to reap massive benefits from the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The Act advocates for strict consumer protection in order to ensure that consumers are by no means exploited by health insurers. The enhancement of health insurance coverage will essentially translate to the introduction of new health insurance coverage options (Jacobs and Theda 132). In so doing, consumers will get a better chance to evaluate, assess, and finally make their health decisions. The ultimate concern is to have insurance coverage spread to the entire American population based on the affordability factor.

Given that the provisions of the Act will have to be complied with, employers will need to engage and collaborate with insurers, even more, to ensure that the goals and objectives of health insurance reforms are achieved. This might not be an easy task, but the underlying benefits to the American people cannot be downplayed. Moreover, employers will have to factor in the new provisions in securing health insurance for their employees.

The Affordable Care Act will primarily be funded by the government through the tax system. This will be done to account for the underlying affordability factor. The implementation of the Act will see changes and improvements in the tax system to provide for the underlying changes (CCH Incorporated, Wolters Kluwer 483). Employer-employee health insurance arrangements will also be factored in, but the most important aspect is that the Act seeks to make American health insurance affordable, efficient, and effective. In other words, the insurance coverage will be spread across all income groups.

On a personal level, it is important to note that the provisions of the Affordable Care Act are commendable. However, the funding aspect of the law needs to be more diversified. Heavy reliance on the tax system should be reduced to some extent and supplemented by other means. This could take a collaborative effort between the government and stakeholders in the health sector to have this change made.