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Health Care (Alex Lam)
March 30, 2015 | Leave a Comment
The Affordable Care Act is a policy formed with great intentions, but hindered by poor planning and execution. A universal health care system, in theory, would improve the lives of everyone in the country. Anyone can afford treatment when needed, and everyone is able to receive a periodic checkup to avoid illness. The greater social impact would be tremendously positive as well, as the country overall would be healthier and people would be able to live better, longer. Yet, the general “One size fits all” philosophy behind the act (in the sense that everyone needs to buy from the marketplace no matter what his/her situation may be) creates sporadic results.
Despite the issues in the policy, the Affordable Care Act managed to show some positive results. For instance, the end of 2014 insured 10 million people because of this act. The subsidies provided from the Affordable Care Act are the primary reason that those who could not otherwise sign up for health care are able to. This is one of the most important targets for the government, as these are the people who are in need of help finding care. While it still remains true that the wealthier classes are still the ones that have the majority of their group covered, the poor made the most significant gains. While receiving health care at an affordable price is not necessarily closing the inequality gap, it certainly is allowing the poor to live a life with a little less stress and worry.
Another positive side effect of the Affordable Care Act is the fact it can allow for people to pursue other endeavors without worrying about losing healthcare from not being a full time employee. As the case for Lyla Turner, who could continue her education and later pursue a higher income job, instead of sticking to her limited growth potential job. She was only able to do this because her income bracket allows her to purchase healthcare for a highly subsidized cost after she stopped working full time. This ideally would allow for those in the lower economic classes to find a way to pursue higher education or other alternatives to move up the ladder.
Even with all the positive aspects, the problems with the policy are loud. The positive impacts are not seen for everyone. For starters, providing health care will not directly help close the income gap. It frees up one burden for a few people, and gives them an opportunity to pursue alternative high potential career paths, but for many it is only an extra cost. Middle class families do not receive the same subsidies as those who make slightly less income do. In that case it is just another cost to add in to an already limited budget. Younger people have to carry the cost of health care and student loans, even though it is the older people who need the coverage. Although more people can afford and have coverage, not everyone is benefiting from it.
Is there a solution to fix the Affordable Care Act? Likely not in the near future. The idea of a universal health care system is difficult to manage in a society that does not want the government to mandate extra costs. The mission is great and should be one to pursue, but it needs to be done in a way that will actually help everyone. It can’t be a “one size fits all” system. Rather, it needs to specifically target the different classes with different policies.
