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Health Care-Class #18-Gerald Lizzo
March 31, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Probably the most important piece of legislature that was passed under the Obama administration was the Affordable Healthcare Act, or as many know it, Obamacare. The law itself was passed in an attempt to help the healthcare industry in America. Prior to it the industry was marred by high premiums leaving many unable to afford healthcare and at risk. For many, the only way to have healthcare was through their employer. Essentially being left behind by other first world countries and our neighbors to the north in having an affective healthcare system, something needed to be done. And despite heavy opposition from many, the bill passed. Now that it has the question has become, did it bring about any significant improvement?
The simple answer to that question is yes it did. The number of Americans without healthcare has been reduced by roughly 25%, or approximately 8-11 million people. About 10 million Americans who had no coverage in 2013 signed up for it in 2014. Furthermore, the national uninsured rate for those under the age of 65 fell by 5% to 11% in total. Of those over the age of 65, largely because of the benefits of Medicare, more than 98% have coverage.
A closer look at those numbers reveals that the younger generation of Americans appears to have benefitted the most from the plan. Of those between the ages of 18-34, the uninsured rate fell from 21.6% to 14.2%. I know for myself personally, I benefitted because I am now allowed to remain on my parents’ health plan until the age of 26, longer than I was originally permitted to be. Along with the younger generation, it appears those in the lowest 20% of income also benefitted mightily form the plan, or at least more so than other those of higher economic classes. Their uninsured rate fell from 26.4% to 17.5%, a nearly 10% decrease that is far more than the other income classes.
However, while this certainly all looks very well on paper, it is not so easy to call the plan a huge success. For starters, while those who are poorer now have more healthcare coverage, what about those in the middle class? Many of these individuals have not fared as well. If more people have coverage than that means insurance companies have more costs to cover, if they have more costs to cover than that means rates have to go up for existing plans. And this has been the case for many of those in the higher economic classes. For many, those premium plans they had in the past have increased in cost, meaning they are now paying the same amount of money for worse coverage or they have to pay more for the same coverage plan. And I think that is an important factor to consider in evaluating the Affordable Care Act, more people have healthcare, but at what cost to the quality of coverage? How “affordable” is it actually?
The question then becomes, how do we keep costs lower? Well, just speaking on personal experience, I think there needs to be more regulation regarding the cost of services within the industry. Just recently my grandfather had to spend a night in the hospital for a back issue. The bill? Just over $17,000. Yes there were a number of tests and procedures that were conducted on him, but all came back inconclusive and he was ultimately given some pain killers and sent home with no actual diagnosis of what the problem was. A closer analysis of the bill revealed that 3-4 doctors were asking for money for services rendered. What did some of them do? Simply, introduce themselves and say they were part of the “team”. That is about 30 seconds of their time and they were never seen again. They were asking for over $500 for their services. The cost of those hospital dresses? Almost $200. I do not know what the affect of the Affordable Care Act has been on insurance companies themselves or doctors in terms of salaries and profits, but these prices are completely out of control, there is no doubt about it.
