10 Power Point

POSITION PAPER

POSITION PAPER 2

Position Paper

Candice Jacobs

Strayer University

PAD 510: Introduction to Public Policy Analysis

Instructor: Dr. Timothy Smith

Argument in Favor of the Policy

The affordable healthcare policy was enacted by Congress to address the issues of healthcare affordability and accessibility in the in the United States. This policy was aimed to remove the barriers that existed in the country in accessing healthcare services by the elderly and low-income earners. This policy has significant benefits to the American people. It provides subsidies which make healthcare affordable to all Americans. The policy has also made prescription drugs to cost less. This makes it possible for people, especially the low-income earners, to afford these drugs (Andrews et al., 2015).

Most Americans are now able to access healthcare insurance at affordable prices as a result of the implementation of the policy. It has also made it possible for people with preexisting conditions such as cancer to get health insurance, which helps them access healthcare at affordable prices (Blumenthal, Abrams & Nuzum, 2015). Before the policy was implemented, such people couldn't get healthcare insurance covers. Mores screening is also covered as a result of the implementation of the policy. People are screened and start their treatment early enough to prevent costly treatment at later stages of the disease.

Normative Argument

           This policy ought to be improved to meet its objectives. The government ought to expand the subsidies to make coverage more affordable for low-income earners. Outreach and education also ought to be increased enrollment. Most people are unable to access affordable healthcare due to lack of education. Payment to doctors and hospitals also need to be capped to reduce premiums (Burgin, 2018). The individual mandate should also be replaced to prevent catastrophic costs to the buyers. The employer mandate should also be killed. This will significantly improve the benefits of the policy to all Americans.

Argument against the Policy

The affordable healthcare policy has affected Americans negatively in many ways. First, most people have to pay higher premiums. Most insurance organizations provide numerous benefits which make them more expensive for people who already had been insured. People can also be fined if they do not have insurance. This policy requires people to pay insurance each year. If you don’t pay, you may be fined. People believe that if one does not pay insurance, they are passing healthcare burden to those that pay (Béland, Rocco & Waddan, 2015).

The affordable healthcare policy is also increasing taxes. Several taxes were passed into law to help pay for the policy. More taxes were also imposed for higher-income earners. The wealthy are losing their money to fund the program. When the affordable healthcare website was being launched, it experienced various challenges. This made it difficult to access or sign up for the right business coverage (Doonan, 2016). Consumers are not guided on the setup process. There are no sections of the website to explain the available options and procedures. Therefore most people waste a lot of time on the site trying to find options on how to use it.

The implementation of this policy has also seen an organization cut of employees’ time to avoid paying for their insurances. This has significantly destroyed lobs. While the number of full-time jobs has gone up in recent years, the companies are cutting hours in which employees should be working (Schembri & Ghaddar, 2017). Companies with more than fifty full-time employees are supposed to pay for employees’ cover. Businesses cut hours from the employees’ schedule to avoid the thirty hours per week definition of employees on full time. This affects the wellbeing of the employees since their salaries will also be reduced.

Response to Argument in Favor of the Policy

I agree that the affordable healthcare policy in the US has had significant benefits to the Americans than it was ones expected. Indeed more people are able to access healthcare services than it was before the policy was implemented. I would say it has transformed people’s lives for the better. With the subsidized prices for insurances, .more people are able to pay for them; hence, they can access healthcare services at affordable prices. The government has developed infrastructure, and people are capable of accessing healthcare services without having to move or travel for long distances for the same services (Gehlert, 2015).

People who have chronic issues do not run out of insurance covers as it was before the policy was implemented. Insurers used to set the amount of money that they would cover for such people. However, this limit was removed after the implementation of the affordable healthcare policy. Most Americans are now able to access healthcare insurance at affordable prices as a result of the implementation of the policy (Hoerl et al., 2017). It has also made it possible for people with preexisting conditions such as cancer to get health insurance, which helps them access healthcare at affordable prices.

However, there are various drawbacks associated with this policy and therefore needs to be improved. First, the policy can be enhanced by expanding subsidies so that coverage can become more affordable for low-income earners. Outreach and education also need to be increased enrollment. The employer mandate also needs to be killed, and the individual mandate replaced to prevent catastrophic costs to the buyers. The government also needs to conduct an education program to ensure people understand the need for paying for their insurance covers.

Response to Argument against the Policy

I agree that the affordable healthcare policy has a negative impact on the American people. Most organizations have cut employees’ working hours hence affecting their salaries. This also implies that the companies will not pay the insurance cover for their workers therefore putting the burden to the employees. The affordable healthcare policy is also increasing taxes. Several taxes were passed into law to help pay for the policy. More taxes were also imposed for higher-income earners. This means that low-income earners benefit from other people’s handwork (Niankara, 2018).

The affordable healthcare policy has also forced people to pay higher premiums. Most people, especially those who were insured before the policy was implemented are forced to pay more to cater for the full range of benefits that have been introduced by most health insurance companies. They are therefore forced to pay more to provide for those benefits. People may also be fined if they fail to pay their insurance at the right time (Ogundipe et al., 2015). This shows that the policy has many shortcomings and need to be improved.

Anecdote

           One businessman by the name Andy argues that the affordable healthcare policy hurts his business in various ways. The New York-based business specializes in medical equipment. In 2013, the government imposed a 2.3 tax on these types of equipment to help pay for affordable healthcare. The affected Andy’s revenue significantly. Andy discounted his product, but that hurt the volume of sales. In 2014 the business operated at a loss. The demand for medical equipment went down as a healthcare organization focused on paying covers for their employees. Andy, who also offers insurance covers for his employees, saw an increase in premiums than in the previous years.

References

Andrews, C. M., Darnell, J. S., McBride, T. D., & Gehlert, S. (2015). Social Work and Implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Health & Social Work, 38(2), 67-71. doi:10.1093/hsw/hlt002

Blumenthal, D., Abrams, M., & Nuzum, R. (2015). The Affordable Care Act at 5 Years. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(25), 2451-2458. doi:10.1056/nejmhpr1503614

Burgin, E. (2018). Congress, Policy Sustainability, and the Affordable Care Act: Democratic Policy Makers Overlooked Implementation, Post-Enactment Politics, and Policy Feedback Effects. Congress & the Presidency, 45(3), 279-314. doi:10.1080/07343469.2018.1498561

Béland, D., Rocco, P., & Waddan, A. (2015). Polarized Stakeholders and Institutional Vulnerabilities: The Enduring Politics of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Clinical Therapeutics, 37(4), 720-726. doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2015.03.005

Doonan, M. (2016). Obamacare Wars: Federalism, State Politics, and the Affordable Care Act , Series: Studies in Government and Public Policy, by Daniel Béland, Philip Rocco, and Alex Waddan. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 47(1), e2-e2. doi:10.1093/publius/pjw029

Gehlert, S., Collins, S., Golden, R., & Horn, P. (2015). Social Work Participation in Accountable Care Organizations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Health & Social Work, 40(4), e142-e147. doi:10.1093/hsw/hlv054

Hoerl, M., Wuppermann, A., Barcellos, S. H., Bauhoff, S., Winter, J. K., & Carman, K. G. (2017). Knowledge as a Predictor of Insurance Coverage Under the Affordable Care Act. Medical Care, 55(4), 428-435. doi:10.1097/mlr.0000000000000671

Niankara, I. (2018). The Determinants of Optional Insurance Coverage with FlexibleSpending Accounts in Post-Affordable Care Act-USA. doi:10.20944/preprints201806.0494.v1

Ogundipe, B., Alam, F., Gazula, L., Olagbemiro, Y., Osiezagha, K., Bailey, R. K., & Richie, W. D. (2015). Remaking the American Health Care System: A Positive Reflection on the Affordable Care Act with emphasis on Mental Health Care. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 26(1), 49-61. doi:10.1353/hpu.2015.0020

Schembri, S., & Ghaddar, S. (2017). The Affordable Care Act, the Medicaid Coverage Gap, and Hispanic Consumers: A Phenomenology of Obamacare. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 52(1), 138-165. doi:10.1111/joca.12146