Reference no: EM132672278

1. Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act was enacted on March 23rd, in 2010. The goal of the Affordable Care Act was to provide health care to millions of Americans who did not have any health or medical insurance. "The Affordable Care was a comprehensive health care reform law which makes insurance affordable for millions of American's alike (Justice.gov)." I would like to begin my discussion on the process of bureaucracy as it relates to the Affordable Care Act.

"Bureaucracy exists in many more social areas than the political structure of the U.S. government. Once bills are passed as law, the next step is to implement them. Some of the bills passed into law do not have a set structure for implementation and are open for interpretation by those in an administrative capacity. The federal government is involved in this process and the political outlook and perceptions of the time are determined by the work of the implementation agencies (SUO, 2016)."

The Affordable Care Act has seen plenty of complaints and its fair share of lawsuits that question both its legality, and its Constitutionality. While some have complained that they have lost their health care coverage, some others have complained that their health coverage has actually increased in pricing for the premiums that were required to be paid, after the law went into affect for the same coverage. I wanted to point some of the recent US Supreme Court rulings on this matter.

"The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 25, 2015 that subsidies were legal. The IRS will be able to issue subsidies on behalf of those who bought a plan through HealthCare.Gov after the plaintiffs in King V. Burwell lost their challenge. In 2015 fate of subsidies hinged on King V Burwell, a case that argued subsidies obtained through HealthCare.Gov were illegal. The Supreme Court has heard arguments for King V Burwell on March 4th, 2015 and ruled in favor of subsidies on June 25, 2015 (Obamacarefacts.org)."

In conclusion, it will be interesting to see what types of reform will take place with Obama Care after the new upcoming election has been concluded. My opinion regarding the Affordable Care Act is neutral. I have had no experience with this topic. I have no compliments, nor complaints personally regarding the Affordable Care Act. I am curious to see the outcome, future, and the fate of Obamacare in the hands of a new President. Only time will tell along with a new President, if we have seen the last of Obamacare.

2. The affordable care act also known as Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was established to help lower the amount of United States citizens who do not have healthcare and to make healthcare more affordable. This policy believes in the saying, "healthcare is a right, not a privilege" (Rak & Coffin, 2013). The United States has about 49.9 million individuals who are uninsured because of the cost of healthcare plans (Rak & Coffin, 2013). The Affordable Care Act will help decrease the amount of citizens without healthcare and help them a long with others receive health coverage that is affordable. This policy was authorized on March 23, 2010 and upheld on June 28, 2012 (Rak & Coffin, 2013).

The Affordable Care Act has been subjected to much scrutiny. Many have said that this policy is unethical and unconstitutional. Based of the interpretation of the Constitution, no where does it state that healthcare is a right. The move to have the government take over the health system is lost of liberty and freedom in some individual's perspective. The PPACA is a great initiative to eliminate the millions of people without health care but to try to enact such a program in such a short amount of time can be critical to the United States economy. There needs to be serious changes within the health care system and more programs need to be allocated so that these millions of individuals without health care can receive the fair amount of treatment and insurance wanted by the Affordable Care Act. (Pariser, 2012).

There are many positives about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. One of those pros are that dependent children will be able to stay on their parent's insurance until the age of twenty-six. This rule will help those college students that can not find jobs with health care benefits. Another positive about the PPACA is that health insurance companies can no longer deny individuals with preexisting conditions. This policy will help those to find coverage without screening or discrimination. Also, there are some advantages for physicians as well. Due to the PPACA eliminating insurance companies from upholding coverage to those with preexisting conditions, physicians can now have more control over decisions for their patients. (Rak & Coffin, 2013)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a much needed policy. The United States spends the most money on health care but majority of its people are uninsured. With this new legislation it will not only help decrease the cost of those individuals who are uninsured but also give those people the necessary care they need in order to live and be contributing members of their society. Health care is a right. In order for people to contribute and help the economy they must be at their very best. If they are not at their best than they can not work and there fore use more resources such as government assistance. This can be eliminated and more individuals can work and contribute their efforts to the economy by being able to afford health care insurance and be at their healthiest.