The Impact of Obamacare on Healthcare Reform
Posted October 15, 2013 | Filed under topic Obamacare
An issue presently facing all Americans is Obamacare, which establishes for the first time in the history of the country a healthcare system that provides coverage for each and every American citizen. Signed into law on March 23rd 2010, the Supreme Court upheld the legislation on June 28th, 2012. While there are those on both sides that support and oppose Obamacare, its impact on the nation cannot be denied, as it will dramatically change the medical insurance landscape in America forever.
Who Obamacare will affect is a question that many have been asking themselves since it became a major issue on the House floor as it weaved its way through Congress and into the hands of President Barack Obama, who signed it into law last year. Without question, America’s healthcare system needed a major overhaul. At issue, however, was how that would come about, who would be covered under what plans or programs, and how the entire country would benefit from such a comprehensive program.
Under the Obamacare plan (also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), all Americans will are to covered as healthcare system is centralized once and for all. One of the features of Obamacare will be new taxes on the drug companies to the tune of over $27 billion dollars, as well as medical technology companies at around $20 billion dollars. In addition to these new taxes, there are to be more regulations for physicians working under this system. While Republicans and Democrats have battled (and are still battling) over the specifics of Obamacare, new compliance regulations have been imposed, as well as other costs for small and medium-sized companies to ensure that every worker has access to affordable healthcare.
Obamacare seeks to provide more affordable healthcare for individuals in America. Worth noting is that Obamacare will be in addition to private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid, which it doesn’t replace. Millions of Americans will benefit from the program as it offers new incentives and protections for adults both young and old. Under the plan, young adults can remain with their plan until they reach 26 years of age. The program’s effectiveness will be determined in the future by the amount of young people that sign up for health insurance. Also, there is gender discrimination prevention set in place, mandates for health insurance companies to not hike rates, as well as health care costs subsidies. Benefits like emergency care, prescription drugs, maternity, and hospitalization must also be included on all plans with no dollar limits and preventive services such as immunizations, screenings, and counseling must also be a part of all plans with no out of pocket payments.
For those Americans that earn less than a certain amount of money annually, they may be eligible to receive low-cost or free health insurance through subsidization plans. There are a few options available to those that qualify to save money through their health insurance plan under this new legislation. Obamacare has already enacted some of these new provisions and the rest are rolling out through his second term and into the year 2022, currently affecting 100 million Americans.