Future Consideration for Employer-Based Health Insurance
Speculation about the future of employer-based health coverage began in earnest with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. Critics of the federal subsidy, designed to provide working, uninsured Americans with the to purchase “affordable” health insurance believe this may have presented employers with the unprecedented opportunity to cancel group plans and refer employees to health exchanges, while proponents of the ACA continue to disagree and believe that Obamacare is the necessary precursor that will enable the government to eventually assume total control of the U.S. healthcare industry.
The ACA and Employer-Based Coverage
The ACA “makes health insurance more secure and reliable for Americans who have it, makes coverage more affordable for families and small business owners, and brings down skyrocketing healthcare costs that have put a strain on individuals, families, employers, and our Federal budget” ("Obamacare Facts", n.d.) by the establishment of laws which govern how healthcare. Under the ACA, provisions regarding enhanced protections for individuals who already had insurance such as dependent coverage, women’s health care, and pre-existing conditions were phased in prior to the full enactment of the ACA. The ACA established the framework for nationalized health insurance which was available for individuals without access to group plans to purchase individual plans at
What’s next? Some experts say that if the consumer-directed approach doesn’t succeed, em wash their hands of health care altogether. A recent study by the Employee Benefit Researc showed that the proportion of U.S. residents covered by employment-based health benefits d percent in 2000 to 60 percent in 2004. Decades from now, observers may conclude that a counter- revolution in employer coverage began in these early years of the 21st century. —Terence F. Shea
Health insurance and the affordable care act is a major topic in the United States today. This being said, there are many questions that run through one’s mind when the topic is discussed. Questions such as, what exactly is health insurance? What is the Aetna-Humana merge, and how beneficial is it? Should healthy citizens help pay for citizens with prior known health issues? Should people with preexisting conditions even have the option to purchase insurance to help cover medical cost? Although the Affordable Care Act has been in effect for a few years now, there are still some problems today the health insurers face because of this law.
Mason & colleagues (2016) lay out three important areas that the ACA provision addresses. First, the ACA provisions address to Expand access and health insurance coverage to improve insurance coverage currently held by most Americans, which lots of people are aware of the changes to and the expansion of health insurance coverage. The provision immediately made some improvements and forwarded them to the insurance system and others and these are some examples that went to effect; Elimination of lifetime and unreasonable annual limits on benefits, and it also ceased annual limits in 2014. In addition, the ACA provision altered
At last, the law gave new alternatives and motivating forces to help states rebalance their Medicaid long haul mind programs for group based administrations and backings as opposed to institutional care. All in all, these arrangements have quickened Medicaid advancement effectively in progress in numerous states. Also improved with the ACA besides Medicaid, is Medicare. The Affordable Care Act incorporates a progression of Medicare changes that will create billions of dollars in reserve funds for Medicare and fortify the care Medicare recipients get. The new law secures ensured benefits for all Medicare recipients, and gives new advantages and administrations to seniors on Medicare that will help keep seniors solid. The law likewise incorporates arrangements that will enhance the nature of care, create and advance new models of care conveyance, suitably value administrations, modernize our wellbeing framework, and battle waste, extortion, and mishandle. A big topic that is affected from ACA is businesses. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- otherwise known as Obamacare -- is putting such a small dent in the profits of U.S. companies that many refer to its impact as 'not material' or 'not significant. Even after a provision went into effect this year requiring companies with 50 or more full-time workers to provide coverage, and after more workers are choosing to enroll in existing company coverage because of another requirement that all Americans get
The ACA provides various benefits to Medicaid enrollees by expanding coverage to include mental health, prescription drugs, family planning services, hospice care for children, tobacco cessation, preventive and obesity related services. The main provision of the act is to reduce cost while improve the quality of care and the way it is delivered. The law prohibits insurance companies from dropping coverage for any reason, provide insurance even if there is a pre-existing condition. Provide coverage for preventive services and immunizations. Dependant coverage is extended up to age 26. The law established a cap on insurance company’s spending on non-medical costs and administrative expenditures. Insurance companies cannot charge more money based on an individual’s health status, gender or salary. The ACA reforms Medicare by closing the coverage gap also known as the “donut hole” by continuing coverage for prescription drugs.
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a law put in place to provide comprehensive health insurance reforms that allowed Americans to have access to affordable health insurance options. The Affordable Care Act seeks to make health care more affordable, secure, accessible and of a higher quality for the millions of Americans who were previously uninsured, or who had insurance that didn’t provide them adequate coverage and security.
Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) has serious implications in almost all the sectors of the US healthcare system. The health insurance companies are the greatest losers because of Obama Care. What they believed to be a sound policy that would help them and increase their earnings, has turned out to be a bad policy. I feel that Obama Care is battering the health insurance companies. I agree that the concerns raised by the US healthcare system are valid. It is true that the Obama care policy has not been of great benefit to their businesses. Companies have been suffering significant losses because of Obama Care. It is unfortunate that the advocates of Obama care continue to argue that the Obama care is of great benefit to the insurance companies, yet they do not have a better understanding of what the insurance business entails. While they projected that the policy was going to increase the revenue of the insurance companies due to the many subscribers, they do not consider that companies are making losses. It is very true that Obama Care is impacting healthcare providers negatively. The concerns of the US healthcare system are also supported by other insurance companies who are complaining about the same issues. The US healthcare system should take a step and refrain from taking any other policies related to Obama Care. It is not viable to continue making losses since the same will affect businesses growing concern. Obama Care was expected to support the insurance companies,
Some benefits of having a national insurance system, such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) include: Ending the long-time discrimination by most insurance companies based upon a pre-existing condition and your current health status. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), persons seeking health insurance, while they already have a pre- existing condition, and could not get health insurance previously will have access. The ACA will give choices of health insurance that are affordable. Under this national insurance system, a large number of Americans will be able to obtain affordable insurance because of the creation of health insurance exchanges, which will allow families to compare health plans and then be able to choose a plan that fit their needs. These exchanges will guarantee families or persons that quality
According to a lot of people in the United States, while the ACA may provide an avenue for uninsured Americans to obtain health insurance, there is an underlying agenda that the government has in doing so. Perhaps those that believe this have good reason to feel this way because according to heritage.org, the ACA “imposes intru¬sive federal control of the American health insur¬ance and delivery system” (Hoff, 2010). While there will be an exchange system set up in each state the federal government will be in control of these exchange systems. A lot of people feel that this is just another way for the government to control the people. Only time will tell just how much truth there is to their concerns.
OMarch 23, 2010 brought America's first universal health care coverage law, The Affordable Care Act (ACA) known as Obama Care (though it had nothing to do with the care of Obama). The ACA aimed to stop skyrocketing insurance plan rates, limiting coverage, capping usage, high deductibles, and denied coverage on preexisting conditions. It also addressed the issue of citizens who had only high deductible catastrophic health insurance plans, or not any health insurance at all. The ACA's objective to drive down medical costs mandated all citizens to have health care coverage. Part of the revenue was to come from health care payments made by those who hardly use medical services to provide funds to keep medical costs low for those who use medical
The affordable care act was passed into law by congress and the president in 2010. This plan was established to help all individuals obtain health insurance, regardless of having a pre-existing condition through the government marketplace as an affordable amount, or if you did not meet the set standards, was offered a state based health care coverage (HHS, 2015). Those individuals who did not have qualified medical coverage for the majority of the tax year, they would be penalized and have to pay a certain amount or a percentage based off of their income. Also under the ACA employers are now responsible, depending on how many employees are employed with their company, to offer their full time employees health care coverage, or also face a
The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the most current governmental effort to bring a national health care plan to the United States (U.S.). Policy makers in the U.S. are hopeful the ACA will be able to extend health care coverage to 47 million nonelderly uninsured citizens (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). The ACA broadens the Medicaid eligibility for low income individuals at or below the 138% Federal Poverty Line (FPL) and adds tax credits to assist people to purchase insurance in the Health Insurance Marketplace (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). In 2012, the Supreme Court the upheld the constitutionality of the ACA requiring most people to maintain a minimum level of health insurance, however they left the
Recently, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) celebrated six years since the law’s passage. During that time, there have been many debates and slow changes to the United States healthcare system. One area that has been debated is in regards to employer-based health insurance along with the advantages and disadvantages in providing this type of coverage. Since there is more information about the expansion of health insurance options and how the exchange sponsored insurance plans are functioning, the discussion on if employer-based health insurance is beneficial or detrimental will be examined.
The ACA has Americans searching for a health insurance company, however, not everyone can afford one. This makes it an issue on whether it is possible to enforce such statute if insurance is not accessible for all. The solution brought about with Obamacare was the creation of subsidies. The first form of cost assistance is the use of premium tax credits which lowers premiums. Just as Medicaid, tax credits depend upon income in which the lower your income the lower the percentage you will have to pay towards health
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as “Obamacare”, has drastically altered healthcare in America. The goal of this act was to give Americans access to affordable, high quality insurance while simultaneously decreasing overall healthcare spending. The ACA had intended to maximize health care coverage throughout the United States, but this lofty ambition resulted in staggeringly huge financial and human costs.