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Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or Obama Care
Introduction
Roughly three years ago, President Obama ratified the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, alternatively referred as the healthcare reform act or Obama care, into law (Flaer et al. 181). Among many other concerns of the act, the chief goal of the healthcare reform was to avail a healthcare insurance that was affordable by all citizens of the United States coupled with a reduction of the escalation of healthcare spending. However, this does not imply that Obama care is a substitute for Medicaid, Medicare, or even private health insurance (Flaer et al. 182). Rather, it widens the scope of Medicaid so that many individuals have insurance covers including those living below poor quality line standards. With regard to Obama care Facts, Obama care ensures that sick people cannot be dropped from insurance, people cannot be denied healthcare for preexisting conditions, and that women cannot be charged more than men by insurance companies (Para.5). Arguably, this is an effort to ensure that no discrimination exists among all citizens of the United States as far as accessibility to quality healthcare is concerned. Obama care Facts further inform that the main aim of the healthcare reform is to improve community healthcare centers in an effort to improve health for those who cannot afford private health care (Para. 6). In line with this aim, it sounds imperative to claim that the healthcare reform permits the American people to pay for healthcare coverage that they can just afford. This claim introduces some challenges since the affordability of healthcare coverage remains questionable especially bearing in mind that the implementation of the health care plan will result to higher taxes. This will often cause the American people to dig deeper into their pockets to keep the plan running. In this paper, the writer takes the point of being an anti-Obama care, a stand that is influenced by the argument that the healthcare reform has negative impacts on employers, as it has resulted to the increment of taxes payable by the citizens and businesses among other impacts whose overall effect is to make life more expensive for the Americans.
The Meaning of Obama care
Obama care is a representation of the impeccable regulatory overhaul for health care system of the United States since 1965 (Antos et al. 462) when Medicaid and Medicare were passed. The central driving force for the healthcare plans is the need to avail affordable healthcare to all Americans coupled with the minimization of the number of Americans who are uninsured. To realize this endeavor, the healthcare reform plan provides mechanisms such as offering subsidies, tax credits, and mandates to individuals and or employers all of which are aimed at hiking the health insurance convergence rate. The plan has also some other additional reforms aimed at improving outcomes for healthcare coupled with streamlining the healthcare. Obama care places an obligation to insurance companies to ensure that all applicants are subtly covered at equal rates with the gender and pre-existing conditions of the applicants notwithstanding delivery (Obama care Facts Para.7). Upon implementation of the plan, it was estimated by the United States Congressional Budget Office that the Obama care would lower Medicare spending coupled with the future healthcare deficits (p.5). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides that all individuals who are not covered by Medicaid, healthcare plans sponsored by employers, Medicare, or even any insurance plan offered to the public to buy and precisely comply with the health insurance policies of private insurance. Failure to meet any of these requirements attracts penalties unless such persons are members of religious sects, which are not only recognized by the state but also exempted by the internal revenue service and or are waived in situations of financial hardship. This case is a requirement for shared responsibility. Under the act, federal subsidies are accorded to persons and families that are between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty levels. Obama care expands eligibility to Medicaid to encompass all persons and families whose incomes are up to 133% of the United States poverty levels. For the case of companies that employ more than 50 workers, Obama care requires them to engage and contribute towards shared responsibility requirement in case they need their employees to have their healthcare subsidized. However, important to note is that such companies should not be giving their employees any coverage for health insurance. The act also authenticates the operation of exchanges for health insurance within the states. With regard to Blahous, such exchanges offer a marketplace where individuals and small businesses can compare policies and premiums to buy insurance with a government subsidy if eligible (32). With all these discussions of what comprises the Obama care in mind, it is crucial to note that there have been several concerns among the Americans about the capacity of Obama care to result to a reduction of employment rates. Obama care Facts confirm these concerns by reckoning that there has been concerns that Obama care would truncate into a loss of 650, 000 jobs (Para. 10). Although the proponents of Obama care refute this argument, the healthcare plan has some negative draws backs. These drawbacks are discussed in the next section on the reasons why the paper is against the Obama care.
Why say no to Obama care?
Impacts of Obama care on Taxpayers
Some of the provisions of Obama care are already under implementation. This plan is funded by a huge amount of money. The question is where this money is coming from. Any government earns from its citizens. Therefore, to fund this plan, the American citizens will have to carry the weight either directly or indirectly. The act is meant to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare. Even if new taxes to fund the plan are not directly reflected in the US tax tables, the cost is still enormous to the citizens. President Obamas administration promises that the plan will not affect the families, which make less than $250, 000 annually. Arguably, members of such families may have been employed by organizations that do not avail healthcare insurance. They are not also likely to be capable of buying healthcare insurance policies. If they are not targeted by Obama care new taxes, it remains doubtful where the $503 billion will come from without impairing the economy from 2010 to 2019. Consequently, as Dubay argues, PPACA will raise taxes on middle-income families in direct violation of President Obamas oft-stated pledge not to do so (Para.5). There have also been many delays on the dates of making various provisions of the act effective. This raises concerns on the commitment of the forth-coming president after the current new tenure of the president Obama expires. However, now that president Obama has been re-elected, some confidence exists that his administration will be committed towards the implementation of the act within his four-year term in office. The only concern is that the impacts of the act on the middle class citizens remain imperative. As Dubay informs, the 40 % health insurance exercise tax will apply to plans valued in excess of $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families will take effect in 2018 and is projected to raise $32 billion by 2019 (Para.9). In fact, many of the American people who earn much lower than $250,000 annually usually have high-end health insurance plans. This means that, when the 40% exercise tax provision of the Obama care comes into action in 2018, such families will have to dig deeper into their pockets. Therefore, president Obamas pledge that such families will not be impacted by the health insurance plan might be broken. The argument here is that, in overall, Obama care will influence the US economy negatively. Obama care has also the impact of hiking the portion of payroll tax on hospital insurance. With regard to Dubay, the result of this is to increase the employees portion from 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent for families making more than $250,000 a year ($200,000 for singles), which, once combined with the employers portion, will give a total rate of 3.8 percent when the tax hike takes effect in 2013 (Para.9). This means that the enduring custom that reveals how pay sheet taxations can only be utilized to support health care and social insurance will be broken. It also means that the funds will be deployed to cater for a separate new entitlement. Consequently, probability may exist that the incoming governments will utilize the payroll taxes to fund other social programs, which were not incorporated in the original plans for spending of payroll taxes. Additionally, Obama care objects to utilize payroll taxes in investment. In support of this argument, Dubay argues, The PPACA applies the new higher 3.8 percent HI tax to investment income including capital gains, dividends, rents, and royalties, effective in 2013 (Para.12). The move is a violation of the history of programs for social insurance since an attempt has never been made to employ a portion of payroll taxes in investments to yield incomes.
Impacts of Obama care on businesses
Obama care imposes requirements for businesses compliance to the enacted regulations. A good example of these regulations is employer tax mandates. Other regulations include taxes on business, flow-through investment income, and numerous indirect costs on small and medium-size companies (Liogin Para.2). Compliance to regulations serves as subtle constraint to organizations. Liogin confirms this argument by further asserting that the regulations will dramatically affect companies per-employee costs, firm-level allocation of labor, desire to take on health coverage, and motivation to grow both in terms of income and employment (Para.4). Arguably, these impacts reflect themselves in the form of the negative impairment of the US economy because any dollar spent in any government program must be earned. The only way of earning for the government is through tax imposition. Therefore, funding the health care plan means that taxes will be hiked. In the end, it is arguable that the behaviors of a myriad of small businesses will respond to Obama care by alteration of their conducts. Most of the businesses that are going to alter their behaviors are medium sized ones particularly the ones that hire 50 to 199 people. In this light, Liogin reckons, beginning in 2014, Obama care will begin imposing taxes&to help offset the cost of individual employees receiving premium subsidies through the to-be-established state health insurance exchanges (Para.4). From this insight, it is arguable that medium sized businesses will be forced by business economics to adopt appropriate mechanisms to minimize operational costs. Such strategies may include increasing working hours for the existing pool of employees, rising preference of low skilled employees in comparison to high skilled employees, employing more seasonal workers, and hiring more temporally workers. In response to increasing the costs of maintaining employees within an organization, arguably, many organizations especially the medium sized businesses will opt to drop insurance coverage if they presently offer it. Otherwise, they will shun away from offering it. In fact, this might the most appropriate way of responding since, in the Obama care, no provisions are made to bar them from doing so. In the long term, Obama care may influence small and medium sized organizations in two main ways. Firstly, from the paradigms of the infectiveness of organizational tax credits, Obama care may not manage to proactively address every concern incorporated in the formula adopted by medium sized organizations while arriving at the decision on whether to provide health insurance coverage to their workforce. This argument is particularly significant upon bearing in mind the observation made by Liogin, after all exclusions, the only eligible firms for the heralded small business tax credit are those with 10 or fewer workers and or those with low-income workers&most of these workers will qualify for premium subsidies in the state exchanges (Para.10). Most paramount to note is that such businesses are the ones, which have the highest probability of refuting to provide healthcare coverage to their employees even while subsidies are provided. Secondly, Obama care will have the consequences of increasing the administration costs encountered by organizations. Unfortunately, small organizations do not have the ability or the capacity to embrace increasing organizational complexities especially the ones that act to hike the business costs. Considering these two impacts, Obama care is much less than an additional headache to the current financial challenges faced by various organizations that are struggling to deal with the aftermaths of the global market crisis.
Impacts of Obama care on uninsured insured and insurance companies quality of coverage
With regard to statistics from Congressional Budget Office, Obama care will ensure that the numbers of people who are uninsured are reduced by 32 million by 2019 (7). Unfortunately, this immense reduction does not translate to the provision of health coverage to all Americans. Antos et al approximate that about 23 million people will not have insurance covers by 2019 (463). Indeed, 16 million of the people who will become insured due to the Obama care will be added to the Medicaid while 24 million will acquire health insurance coverage via convergent exchanges created by the new law. Based on the statistics, it is arguable that Obama care will increase accessibility of health coverage through the imposition of legislation as opposed to permitting the health insurance providers to respond to the needs and health care concerns of the Americans. In addition, it is likely that certain provisions incorporated in the act may result to making people shun from seeking health care insurance coverage due to increased costs. This may also result to making many people to either lose or even consider dropping insurance coverage. To fund the healthcare plan, insurance premiums will increase because strict regulations will have the implication of sky-rocking the costs of coverage. This argument is further supported by the fact that healthcare spending has been rising since 1965. According to Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, as a share of GDP, total health spending has increased from about 6% in 1965 to about 18 % in 2010, and is projected to reach 20% of GDP in 2020 (7). Arguably, it is from these facts that the Obama care has been adopted and signed into law to ease the accessibility to quality healthcare.
Conclusion
Although the aim of Obama care is fostering the existence of a healthy nation, it has a number of impacts, which are not welcomed on the employees and employers angle, as well as health insurance cover providers. From this dimension, the paper has argued that Obama care will have a negative impact on many organizations especially small businesses, which are more likely to result into making their employees work for longer hours. They will consider hiring more people on temporally basis coupled with other ways of ensuring that they are able to compensate for reduced incomes due to the need to abide by the regulations of Obama care.
Synthesis
In the previous section, it is argued that Obama care introduces a myriad of impacts on various businesses, employees, and even healthcare insurance cover providers. In this section, this assertion is evaluated in the context of existing literature on the impacts of the Obama care on the same aspects considered in the main paper. As a way of synthesizing the arguments raised in the main paper, two scholarly woks are considered. One of these scholarly works is an article titled The Obama Plan: More Regulation, Unsustainable Spending, which is authored by Antos, Wilensky, and Kuttner. The article was published in the journal of Health Affairs. The second scholarly work is essentially concerned with laying out the facts and myths of Obama care plan. Opposed to the first article, the second scholarly work argues that Obama care influences the United States population positively, which in the recent past, has recorded increased spending in heath care. Obama care has an incredible effect on the various businesses in the United States since it may make them resort to alternative ways of ensuring that they do not suffer from imposed regulations to enhance the success of the Obama care plan. This case is the position held by the discussions of the main paper, as revealed also Antos Wilensky and Kuttner when they argue, the saving estimates and the resulting impact on federal outlays from the Obama plan are controversial (467). As a way of confirmation of the thesis of the paper, the authors further argue that the mandates placed on employers to pay the peoples (employees) insurance covers act to force employers to pay employees insurance coverage that they would not willingly feel free to purchase themselves. Although this article was written two years before the Obama care was signed into law, its arguments are imperative. What this means is that Obama care forces two unwilling parties to comply with a law that has been enacted by politicians in the quest to attain better health care to persons who would not be able to finance healthcare insurance policies by themselves. Apparently, Obama care healthcare plan is not cheap since what has been done is to overturn health care cover provision cost curves upside down. The implication here is that the middle and high-class people will be forced to chuck out more money in the form of hiked taxes to ensure better healthcare for their counterparts in the low class. Arguably, this is the position that is held by Antos Wilensky and Kuttner when they forecasted, charges for the services use by low class people are factored into health insurance premiums raising the cost of coverage for everyone (Antos et al 466). While Obama care is fully aware of this implication, it fails to protect employers against the rising costs. This claim is widely opposed to the situation of companies, which offered insurance plan prior to the enactment of the Obama care. In particular, Antos et al. inform, the vast majority of employers who offer health insurance already are protected against unpredictable high costs (466). Failure to protect the employers from rising costs means that they would channel the cost increments to employees either directly or indirectly. Obama care legislates that insurance companies would have to justify increments on the coverage costs coupled with posting such justification on their website resources. Whether such justifications are provided or not, Obama care acts to unify people in a bid to ensure equitable access of healthcare among people of all classes, gender, and ethnicity at the expense of some one group of people. The above discussions invite heavy criticisms from Obama care Facts since the source attempts to justify and defend the Obama care plan. According to Obama care Facts, Americans between 133% and 400% above the poverty level will buy affordable health care coverage on the Obama Care health insurance exchanges (Para.12). The source further argues that, the less the amount of money that people earn, the less they pay for the insurance cover. The question is who takes care of the rest. Posing this question to Obama care Facts, the answer is straightforward. The rest of the costs will be catered by the subsidies provided to people who earn less amounts. However, these subsidies are provided by the government indirectly since, in the actual sense, they are paid by both middle and high-class members of the society through increased contributions into the Obama care kitty. Therefore, as the paper argues, employers will have to carry the larger weight of funding the plan. Since every organization in a capitalistic nation is out to make profits so that it can deliver the noble obligation it has for its owners (shareholders), organizations must seek mechanisms to maintain the profitability status quo. More often than not, the likelihood is that such mechanisms will result to disadvantaging the employees. Consequently, no matter how much the Obama care plan attempts to ensure equity in accessibility of quality healthcare, low class people must feel the pain of it in other ways other than digging deep into their pockets.
Annotated Bibliography
Antos, Joseph, Gail Wilensky, and Hanns Kuttner. The Obama Plan: More Regulation, Unsustainable Spending. Health Affairs 27. 6(2008): 462-470. Print.
This article argues that Obama care plan has an immense number of regulations, which focus on ensuring that the cost of provision of health care is shared among all Americans across the divide. Although the article may have been written two years before the signing of the Obama care into law, its arguments on the implication of Obama care on American economy are substantive. In particular, the authors argue that Obama care focuses on expanding insurance coverage and provides new subsidies to individuals, small businesses, and businesses experiencing catastrophic expenses (Antos et al. 462). This argument is subtle in the discussion of the paper since the central thesis of the paper is that Obama care has some negative implications on the American people.
Blahous, Charles. The Fiscal Consequences of the Affordable Care Act. Mercatus: Mercatus Center at George Mason University, 2012. Print.
The main concern of this article is the implication of the Obama care on the fiscal position of federal governments. Blahous holds that the health care plan will affect the fiscal position of various federal governments in comparison with previous laws. In support of these arguments, he states that Obama care will be anticipated to add at least $340 billion and as much as $530 billion to federal deficits while increasing federal spending by more than $1.15 trillion between 2012 to 2021 (Blahous 5 ). This position is insightful in this paper since the reason why the paper takes the position of anti Obama care is because of the eminent and inherent negative implications that the plan has on not only on the entire America but also on federal states.
Congressional Budget Office. H.R. 4872, Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Final Health Care Legislation), 2010. Web.
This source provides information on the anticipated performance of the Obama care plan. It also discusses the various aspects of the Obama care plan and the phases of its implementation. These discussions are crucial in the context of this paper since they help to build on the foundation on which the papers thesis is anchored.
Dubay, Curtis. Obama Care: Impacts on Taxes, 2010. Web.
The central aim of Dubay is to lay down a foundation for introspection of imminent impacts that Obama care has on the taxation changes. He maintains, PPACA will raise taxes on middle-income families in direct violation of President Obamas oft-stated pledge not to do so (Para.5). In this end, the article is insightful in helping to provide evidence of the negative impacts of the Obama care.
Dubay, Curtis. Obama Care: Impacts on Taxes, 2010. Web.
The author of this article argues that, although reforms are crucial in making health care services accessible to all Americans, they also have some negative impacts. For instance, the author claims, health care insurance for the lower class shows intense red lights for repeal of the legislation to members of the middle and upper classes (181). With regard to the discussions of the paper, this argument is crucial since the paper suggests that the impact of the Obama care plan is to make the upper and middle class people cater for health insurance covers of people in the low class. Merging the arguments of the paper and those of the author of the article, it is arguable that that Obama care introduces class warfare.
Liogin, John. Obama Care: Impacts on Business, 2010. Web.
This article argues that Obama care introduces financial challenges to many businesses especially the medium sized occupations because such businesses are forced to incur additional costs for their administrations. Therefore, this article is significant in the context of this paper since the paper is not only concerned with how Obama care will create relieves of health insurance to the employees but also on the possible pain inflicted on the places where the funds for the plan are going to be sourced from.
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. A Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2012. Web.
The data book avails information on Medicare spending and national healthcare information. Other areas of concern are Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care in the Medicare program, Medicare beneficiary, and other payer liabilities (Medicare Payment Advisory Commission 4). This information is critical in this paper since it forms a means of evaluating the pattern on healthcare spending, which is imperative in discussions of the overall impacts of the Obama care since Medicare is one of the programs that will facilitate the implementation of the Obama care.
Obama care Facts. Facts on Obama Health Care Plan, 2012. Web.
This source attempts to separate the myths and facts of Obama care. The goal for doing this is to provide justification of the health insurance plan. While the author fails to agree on some of the facts laid out, not because they are not correct but because of their indirect implications, myths and facts discussed are critical in the context of the paper since they form the basis for the arguments raised.
References
Antos, Joseph, Gail Wilensky, and Hanns Kuttner. The Obama Plan: More Regulation, Unsustainable Spending. Health Affairs 27. 6(2008): 462-470. Print.
Blahous, Charles. The Fiscal Consequences of the Affordable Care Act. Mercatus: Mercatus Center at George Mason University, 2012. Print.
Congressional Budget Office. H.R. 4872, Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Final Health Care Legislation), 2010. Web.
Dubay, Curtis. Obama Care: Impacts on Taxes, 2010. Web.
Flaer, Paul, Younis Mustafa, Muhammed Alotaibi, and Hajeri Maha. Thinking Through Healthcare Reform. Ageing International 37.2(2012): 181-185. Print.
Liogin, John. Obama Care: Impacts on Business, 2010. Web.
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. A Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2012. Web.
Obama care Facts. Facts on Obama Health Care Plan, 2012. Web.
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