Introduction
The Healthcare Reform, or the Affordable Care Act is a law which was signed into effect by President Obama in March of 2010. It is a very important mandated law which affects all Americans, regardless of their background or ethnicity and is a requirement for everyone to have medical health insurance ("What Is Healthcare Reform? | Medical Mutual", 2016). Many Americans do not agree with such a mandated provision and it has faced an incredible number of legal battles; since if an individual had decided not to have medical insurance as the law requires, then they would have to pay a penalty for their negligence and many citizens perceive this as unfair or unjust.
Although this is a federal law, the government has also allowed some states such as New York to enforce their own particular type of law for health care reform. For instance, New York “may set up their own health insurance exchange which is similar to the federal health marketplace. This could be a great advantage for the citizens of this state because there are already a high number of consumer protection laws like the community rating which enables individuals to access health insurance without tedious questions pertaining to their age, current health status, etc.” (Bell, 2016).
Through the remainder of this discussion, we will look at the five elements of the Affordable Care Act which needs the most reform. These areas are the a) controlling the increasing costs of health insurance premiums or its overall costs, b) the removal of penalties, c) mandating more employers to offer health insurance to their employees, d) strengthen the current policies for consumer protection and e) the improvement of quality healthcare to all Americans.
Controlling the Increasing Costs
The first element, which is to control the increasing costs of health insurance premiums because it interferes with the budget for daily living expenses like food, clothing, utility bills and other basic necessities for survival, especially in lower income households because they are unable to afford the high healthcare premium costs which could range in the hundreds for a family of two or more members. “This could lead to an essential bill being left unpaid and this is something which affects millions of families” ("ObamaCare Facts: Facts on the Affordable Care Act", 2016). This element could be reformed by “the consistent promotion of healthy living by eating the appropriate foods to have a long and fulfilling life free of diseases or other ailments since many individuals are unaware that high cholesterol foods cause high blood pressure or heart disease” (Landon, 2014).
Removal of Penalties
The second element, “the removal of penalties” should be reformed without implementing a strict consequence. Individuals should be able to choose whether if they want medical insurance or not and not have to be dictated about taking care of his or her own health. Luckily, there are exemptions from incurring this penalty, “but it must be an extenuating circumstance, such as an eviction, zero income, homelessness, prison, among other scenarios” (Renter, 2015).
Mandate Employers to Offer Health Insurance
The third element, which is to “mandate more employers to offer health insurance” should be reformed because every employer must recognize that the employee’s will work hard for the company to meet productivity goals, and as a result, “the employee needs to be able to feel secure enough that the employer cares for his or her health needs by offering an adequate amount of health insurance year round at an affordable cost based on the salary or wage of the worker” (Buchmueller, Carey & Levy, 2013).
Strengthening of Policies
While the fourth element focuses on the strengthening of the policies for consumer protection could be a situation where an elderly may have trouble obtaining health services to pay for medication fees; the reform should be set up to where no impoverished population of individuals are deprived of access to any essential healthcare service.
Improve the Quality of Healthcare
The final element, is to improve the overall quality of the healthcare system, regardless if the type of medical delivery is for a high income individual or an individual within the lower income bracket. All of the physicians and nurses should provide the best care for all patients, despite their background. In contrast, an example of poor quality healthcare would be “nurses and doctors standing around talking about nonsense in an emergency room when they should be tending to the patient’s immediate needs” (Davis, Abrams & Stremikis, 2011).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Affordable Care Act may be universal and offer health coverage to all citizens of America to help fight against preventable diseases, or major illnesses that could be caught early with the assistance of having medical insurance; but there are many people still feeling unhappy about the other penalties and the additional fines which they may incur. This law has been one of the most debatable laws since any President has taken oath in the White House because it is approached with a high number of opinions-both positive and negative. I personally believe that with any new law, it is a process and any new additions to the Affordable Care Act should be added either through the appropriate elections, “or through advocacy and letters to voice opinions with the members of Congress” (Golbeck, Grimes & Rogers, 2010), or the President himself to make such changes, and not by suffering in silence if the new law is not beneficial for an individual or their family’s needs.
References
Bell, C. (2016). What is Health Care Reform? - Federal Health Care Reform Implementation in New York State. Healthcarereform.ny.gov. Retrieved 9 March 2016, from http://www.healthcarereform.ny.gov/summary/
Buchmueller, T., Carey, C., & Levy, H. (2013). Will Employers Drop Health Insurance Coverage Because Of The Affordable Care Act?. Health Affairs, 32(9), 1522-1530. http://dx.doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0526
Davis, K., Abrams, M., & Stremikis, K. (2011). How the Affordable Care Act Will Strengthen the Nation's Primary Care Foundation. J GEN INTERN MED, 26(10), 1201-1203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1720-y
Golbeck, J., Grimes, J., & Rogers, A. (2010). Twitter use by the U.S. Congress. J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci., n/a-n/a. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.21344
Landon, B. (2014). Changes in Health Care Spending and Quality 4 Years into Global Payment. New England Journal Of Medicine, 371(18), 1704-1714. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/nejmsa1404026
ObamaCare Facts: Facts on the Affordable Care Act. (2016). Obamacare Facts. Retrieved 9 March 2016, from http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-facts/
Renter, E. (2015). How Much Is the Obamacare Penalty? What You'll Pay for Not Having Health Insurance - NerdWallet. NerdWallet. Retrieved 9 March 2016, from https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/how-much-is-the-obamacare-penalty-not-having-health-insurance/
What Is Healthcare Reform? | Medical Mutual. (2016). Medmutual.com. Retrieved 9 March 2016, from https://www.medmutual.com/Healthcare-Reform/The-Basics/What-is-Healthcare-Reform.aspx
