Affordable Care Act
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| − | The | + | The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a law passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in March 2010 to reform the health care system in the United States. |
== History == | == History == | ||
Revision as of 14:47, 14 July 2012
| Guide to: |
| Hail to the Chief? |
| Persons of interest |
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a law passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in March 2010 to reform the health care system in the United States.
Contents |
History
Health care reform was one of President Obama's goals when he took office in 2009. Once debate over health care reform began in Congress, it became a big political issue that received much attention in the media along with fierce support and criticism. After a long time of debate, the Affordable Care Act passed 219-212 in the House and 60-39 in the Senate.[1]
Provisions
The Affordable Care Act is meant to lower costs and to improve health care quality. Probably the most notable aspect of the law is the expansion of coverage to 32 million more Americans. Some of the provisions the law implements include[2]
- a Patient's Bill of Rights to protect consumers from some of the worst insurance company abuses
- resources that assist states in keeping health premiums down, protect consumers, and expand consumers' health choices
- creating a Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan that allows people who have
an excuse for insurance companies to deny them the basic human right to decent health carea pre-existing condition to receive coverage - creating the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program so businesses can better provide coverage to retirees who aren't yet eligible for Medicare
- measures that will help small businesses claim their tax credit and allow the country's health care system to save costs while being more efficient
- allowing younger people to remain on their parents' health care plan until age 26
Timeline
Not all of the act was implemented when it was passed.
Starting September 23, 2010 services such as mammograms, immunizations, and colonoscopies (aka preventive services) will be covered by insurance and insurance companies will be banned from charging co-payments, co-insurance or deductibles for these. Consumers will also have the right to appeal a decision by an insurance company to a third party and choose which provider within their plan's network of doctors they want.
Other provisions are gradually instated between 2010 and 2014. The goal of the act is to provide a new competitive insurance marketplace.[2]
Reception
Many viewed the passing of the Affordable Care Act as a valuable and important step forward from what many view as a very inadequate system. It has been praised for its provisions that help expand coverage to the uninsured and end many of the unethical abuses by insurance companies.
Criticism from the left
Some from the more liberal side of the spectrum claim that the law doesn't go far enough and that it should bring the US's health care system closer to a universal health care system. Specifically, they point to Obama's campaign support of a public health insurance option, which was included in the House version of the bill[3]. The law's current requirement for insurers to dedicate 80% of their premiums to health care, however, has been seen by some as paving the way for a possible single-payer or public option in the future[4].
Right-wing criticism
The law is opposed by many on the right. They see it as a breach of the federal government's power and responsibility. Many right-wingers believe that the health care overhaul is a big step toward socialism in the United States and labeled it as an unpopular law that will be disastrous for the country. Mike Huckabee put out a well known commercial asking people to support the act's repeal. Strangely enough, many health insurance companies are also opposed to the act, presumably because the federal government is curbing their ability to abuse their power. In particular, the Republican Party have an unreserved and unconditional loathing for this bill, having used any excuse to try to get it repealed under the guise that it is "job killing". As it happens, the bill was run by the Congressional Budget Office, who don't take sides, and they said the effect on jobs would "probably be minimal", and then only because people get healthcare outside their jobs (meaning the lazy assholes don't have to work to stay alive), while repealing the bill would lead to a deficit increase of about $210 billion. The Republican response was something like this:
“”This is a job-killing law, period. Anyone who argues otherwise is ignoring the construct of the health care law and the widely accepted facts.
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They also cited a figure of 650,000 jobs, which they claimed was in the CBO report; but it was not, and the Republican statement was rated as "false" by PolitiFact's Truth-O-Meter.[5]
In addition, at least five major court rulings have been made concerning the bill. Four of them declare it to be constitutional and therefore removes the grounds for repeal. One, though — which was also the one involving 26 separate states, led by Florida — said the bill was not constitutional, and referred it up.
On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was constitutional, including the individual mandate — owing not to the government's power to regulate interstate commerce, but to the government's powers of taxation, since the only penalty for not purchasing health insurance is that one has to pay more tax. This appears to have been a last second decision, as the popular speculation in the weeks preceding the decision was that the individual mandate, if not the whole law, was almost certain to be struck down. [6]
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ OpenCongress: H.R. 3590
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Whitehouse.gov: The Affordable Care Act
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Health_Care_for_America_Act#Comparison_with_House_version
- ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/12/02/the-bomb-buried-in-obamacare-explodes-today-halleluja/
- ↑ Politifact
- ↑ http://www.salon.com/2012/06/28/did_john_roberts_switch_his_vote/