Does ObamaCare Go Far Enough

Posted on 5th Jul 2013 @ 9:46 AM

Does ObamaCare Go Far Enough

Recently, the issue of how healthcare should be reformed has become increasingly pressing and convoluted. The Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed “ObamaCare”, was signed into law in 2010 and additional reforms under this bill are to follow rapidly in the following years until 2020. 

Nonetheless, many people have not come to a greater understanding of the kinks of the new reform and how they will be affected. The general public must be brought to terms with changes that will affect them and their posterity in order to ensure health and better deal with medical expenses. 

ObamaCare was formed to combat the severe issues that had plagued our health care system in the decades prior to Obama’s presidency. 17% of our GDP was being spent on healthcare, yet a disturbing 47 million people were without any healthcare plan. Oftentimes, even those with healthcare plans would fall prey to restrictions such as pre-existing conditions in the plans that called for ridiculously high extraneous expenses. Much of this is was due to the private, for-profit system of both doctors and health insurance companies. 

In essence, a huge portion of America was unable to afford healthcare and those who could were still subject to the healthcare companies’ harsh discretion. However, before we discuss ObamaCare, let’s see how other countries compare against America in healthcare. 

Countries such as Japan, Canada, and Germany (basically most developed countries excluding America) have extremely effective healthcare systems that are able to extend care to every single person in the country. And yet, they spend way less of their GDP than America does. To do so, the government brokers rates for all medical services – no exceptions. Across the globe, average number of annual doctor visits and average length of hospital stays exceed those in America. Healthcare spending by citizens in other countries is significantly lower and controlled. While some have argued that increased government involvement in the healthcare system is “socialistic”, it is hard to argue against the systems that have worked so well for so many other countries around the globe. 

So what has and will ObamaCare solve? To combat the issue of the vast number of Americans without plans, ObamaCare in essence requires these people to buy coverage; otherwise, an increased tax penalty will be imposed. The increased coverage is to be done so through the expansion of Medicaid, a healthcare program for low-income families that is run by each state. However, many uninsured citizens who would qualify for coverage under ObamaCare may not be able to do so if their states have not expanded Medicaid. 

So far, ObamaCare has eliminated lifetime limits and restricted pre-existing conditions. People cannot be dropped from insurance due to sickness. Furthermore, “children” may be added to parents’ healthcare plans until the age of 26. These changes have made access to healthcare significantly simpler and easier to obtain. 

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