THIS IS THE INITIAL QUESTION I NEED A RESPONSE TO

Explain why the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 will fail to bring about universal access, even if it prevails.

pLEASE RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING POST FROM CLASSMATE

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the bible verse says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 English Standard Version). The ACA was created with the hopes of changing and improving healthcare for all Americans. The ACA is an attempt to bring the United States closer to ideals of universal healthcare. The ACA has its benefits but it will fail to reach universal access even if it prevails.

There are reasons why the ACA, as it is now, will fail to bring about universal access. Sure it improves coverage and access but the ACA is not a public option. The ACA is still a way to provide “affordable, private, individual insurance to every American” (Obama, 2017, p. 298). The ACA is not a public option that Americans are automatically enrolled into. The controversy stems from the government subsidies that are paid for coverage to make the premiums affordable (Butler, 2017, p. 1514). Also to cover the affordable premiums, others have to pay higher premiums (Butler, 2017, p. 1515). Personally my health insurance premiums skyrocketed because of the ACA, and it is not like my quality of care went up, all I used my insurance was for basic check-up with my primary physician. And also in a true universal health insurance there is no penalty for refusing to have health insurance. Under the ACA, people are required to purchase and have health insurance, or else they are penalized in a form of tax penalty (Shi & Singh, 2017, p. 365). It was ambitious and the benefits when it was created outweighed the negatives.

Those who oppose the ACA have to way the positives and the negatives. The ACA has its benefits for providing care to the underserved. According to Shi & Singh (2017) somewhere between 16.4 and 16.9 millions Americans gained health insurance under the ACA (p. 363). The ACA increased health coverage for young adults ages 19-25, so the ACA required insurance plans to offer dependent coverage (Lipton & Decker, 2015, p. 1). The ACA also improved access to healthcare for the underserved by providing community health centers with more funding (Shi & Singh, 2017, p. 364). Also it incentivized healthcare providers to provide quality care to patients in a value based payment system (Shi & Singh, 2017, p. 364). And one of the key benefits was that health insurance companies cannot deny coverage for those with pre-existing conditions (Shi & Singh, 2017, p. 364).

Repealing the ACA is a political dilemma. Without a true replacement how will these uninsured and underserved individuals get access to quality healthcare. Without a replacement how will those with chronic conditions like cancer be able to achieve quality healthcare.

The Affordable Care Act is a failure, but repealing it without a true replacement immediately is a grave mistake. The affordable care act with all its flaws is much better in the interim than having an increased in uninsured. The Affordable Care Act is a great attempt to bring about universal healthcare, but it is a stop-gap measure or band aid at best. The debate about replacing the Affordable Care Act is just further proof on how politics is integrated in the healthcare system, and it shows how a reform in our healthcare policy is needed. If one day the United States has universal healthcare then it should be as the bible verse says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, drive out demons. You have received free of charge; give free of charge” (Matthew 10:8-9 English Standard Version).

PLEASE ALSO RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING POST FROM CLASSMATE #2

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 was created with the hopes of changing and improving healthcare for everyone. The essentials of ACA include: “1) a mandate for individuals and businesses requiring as a matter of law that nearly every American have an approved level of health insurance or pay a penalty; 2) a system of federal subsidies to completely or partially pay for the now required health insurance for about 34 million Americans who are currently uninsured – subsidized through Medicaid and exchanges; 3) extensive new requirements on the health insurance industry; and 4) numerous regulations on the practice of medicine” (Huntington, Covington, Center, Covington, & Manchikanti, 2011, pg E35). Despite the good intentions that the ACA may have had, it will fail to bring universal access even if it works out how it would like. This is because there are two issues that remain: “1) the law faces constitutional changes, and if it is repealed, alternative measures to cover the uninsured would become necessary; and 2) even though the ACA is expected to cover an additional 30 million uninsured, it still falls short of universal coverage” (Shi & Singh, 2013, pg 329). Research states that there will be a reduction in the uninsured, there will still be 23 million without health insurance even after the full enactment in 2019. It is very difficult for the ACA to bring about universal access to all, or nearly all citizens to obtain health care. Even if it prevails, many millions of Americans are still underinsured, and that profiteering will still dominate the health care system in the U.S. (Begay, Chapter 5, 2017) Universal access of health care cannot be realized unless accompanied by supply-side rationing, which restricts the availability of expensive medical technology and specialty. But this is contradicting with American’s beliefs and values, which demands for the most advanced technology be made available to them. In addition, without other restrictions, the extension of health insurance to the uninsured by the ACA would increase the total health care expenditures due to moral hazard (Shi & Singh, 2015).