Tag: health insurance

Republicans and the ACA

by demadelye, posted in health insurance

Link to article:

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/02/21/obamacare-is-looking-better-and-better-to-republicans/

The Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare, has caused many heads around the nation to turn swiftly. The health care debate has been in politics for many years and may seem to be extinguishing ever-so-slowly. However, it doesn’t take much for the fire to be ignited once again.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi speak following a meeting with U.S.President Barack Obama on congressional Republicans’ effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

In this opinion piece written by Martin Longman, the idea of Republicans accepting the Affordable Care Act in order to fulfill their desires is being explored. He makes it known that he is astonished when listening to conservatives talk about health care. He highlights Kevin Williamson from the National Review and his ideas of why Republicans should look to Europe for better health care systems. Longman makes it clear that the ACA provides Americans what they want, which is to have everyone covered by private insurances that can actively participate in the market, but to also limit mandates and regulations. In addition, Longman points out the fact that the ACA would be in favor of the Republicans if they had not demonized it. Obamacare was modeled on the health care laws in Massachusetts, which were enacted while Mitt Romney (a Republican) was serving as governor. Furthermore, these laws were based on a plan to oppose HillaryCare in 1993. So why would Republicans demonize and bash on a system that was initially suggested by them?

Link to Kaiser Health Tracking Poll:
https://www.kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-future-directions-for-the-aca-and-medicaid/

In addition to this article, I included this visual from a poll conducted in 2017 concerning how Americans feel about ACA. As presented, Americans are split between repealing the act and keeping it. More Americans want to wait until a replacement plan is proposed in order to repeal the act. However, there are still some Americans who want to repeal the act immediately and work out the replacement later.

As I read this article, I made many connections from how laws are proposed to elements proposed in the More in Common study. I though of the 2/3 votes needed in the House and Senate to approve the repealing of the bill. Furthermore, I began to think of the More in Common study we focused on. I tried to come up with an answer as to why Republicans would discredit something based on their previous actions. The only reason I could think of was because they want to contribute to the polarization of this country through political parties. Politicians are using this act to carry out their agendas in making one another look back, instead of working with each other and creating a solution since there may be a slight difference in views and the priority of health insurance.

“That suggests to me that the consensus on health care will soon move to the left. In a tug-a-war, things don’t remain contested when one side lets go of the rope.”

Martin Longman,
Web editor of washington monthly

I will have to agree with Longman’s astounded reaction when listening to conservatives and Republicans talk of health care systems in America. They want certain concepts, yet demonize the very concept that they want. This only furthers the confusion and the hypocritical tendencies politics may involve. Furthermore, I feel as though this debate intensifies the polarization of the country between different political parties since they cannot agree on one thing. One thing is for certain, it is very hypocritical that Republicans do not support the ACA, even though it was inspired by Republican health care systems established around the country. Although this continues, I feel as though the Republican party has put themselves in a position of immobility they cannot get themselves out of, which will then in turn only allow the Democrats to act in order to bring change. 

Article: ObamaCare is looking better and better to republicans
Author: Martin Longman
Date of publication: February 21, 2019 
Source: Washington Monthly

The Affordable Care Act Today

by demadelye, posted in health insurance

Health insurance can seem like a complex construct of American politics when you’re a teenager about to be propelled into the frightening adult world. With public schools teaching students that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, how are teenagers supposed to know which health insurance coverage best suits their needs?

Click on picture or copy link below to read article: 
https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-02-07/lack-of-health-insurance-coverage-leads-people-to-avoid-seeking-care

In this news article written by staff writer, Gaby Galvin, of US News, she introduces health care insurance and the entanglement of the Affordable Care Act in addition to its effects it has had on health insurance. In a report published by the Commonwealth Fund, it shows that more Americans are insured compared to previous years, but they also tend to be underinsured. Because of this, out-of-pocket health care costs are becoming more expensive and common. In turn, people are putting off care or struggle to pay for medical expenses, which can lead to medical debt. A lot of these people that are underinsured tend to have an employer based health coverage. The president and vice president of the Commonwealth Fund strongly believe that policymakers should get involved and focus on workers and their employer based coverage.

“But the improvement in uninsured rates has stalled (and) more people have health plans that fail to adequately protect them from health care costs.”

Sara collins, lead author of the study and vice president of the commonwealth fund

Through this article, I used a lot of my previous knowledge gained in class. This includes the powers of the state and federal governments and the topics we talked about during Trump’s State of the Union address. From previous knowledge, I know that health care is not a constitutional right and that the federal government can uphold laws through it with the Elastic Clause. In addition to this, the article mentions the State of the Union address given by Trump merely days ago. Both in class and in the speech, dropping the cost of prescriptions were mentioned.

Link to Commonwealth Fund report:
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2019/feb/health-insurance-coverage-eight-years-after-aca

This data chart is from the Commonwealth Fund report mentioned in article. I pulled this chart out of the many that were available due to what it represents. This chart shows that less people are uninsured in 2018 compared to 2003. However, it also shows that there has been a major increase of those who are underinsured since 2003. In order for someone to be considered “underinsured” in this report, they must have been an adult who experienced “out-of-pocket costs, excluding premiums, equaled 10% or more of income; out-of-pocket costs, excluding premiums, equaled 5% or more of income if low-income (<200% of poverty); or deductibles equaled 5% or more of income.” (Collins, S. Bhupal, H. Doty, M.)

As I come to understand how health insurance policies work, I notice the limited amount of restrictions health insurance companies have. I agree with the idea presented by Dr. David Blumenthal, stating that policy makers should focus on “the erosion of employer coverage and its impact on workers.” In fact, there should be more federal policies focused on health insurance to protect the people. By simply providing federal programs to assist with health insurance, the people are still being taken advantage of and that is a real injustice. In addition, the concept of coverage gap is a major inconvenience and should not exist. The coverage gap can be eradicated through the use of careful planning of insurers.

Article: Lack of health insurance coverage leads people to avoid seeking care
Author: Gaby Galvin
Date of publication: February 7, 2019
Source: U.S. News & World Report

Health Insurance & the Government Shutdown

by demadelye, posted in Uncategorized

With the longest government shutdown looming over us, there are a lot of questions concerning certain issues, like how will taxes work and whether trash is being collected, to name a few. With concerns of federal funding being thrown around the White House and a bewilderment sweeping the nation, many federal workers are concerned about their health insurance.

Click on picture or copy link below to read article:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/health-insurance-becomes-collateral-damage-for-workers-in-shutdown.html

In this news article published on CNBC, Annie Nova focuses on how the government shutdown is affecting the health insurance of government employees. All government employees are guaranteed health coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB). But what about new hires and those who have changed their plans? Unfortunately, these employees may be stuck in the “bureaucratic slowdown” and may even have to pay out-of-pocket for these expenses. With some employees not receiving a paycheck, paying these expenses are getting harder and harder, and may ultimately lead to termination of their coverage. In addition to this, many contracts of federal employees are expired or will be expiring soon. As health insurance coverage for federal employees adds on to the list of things being affected by the government shutdown, the environment in D.C. doesn’t seem to be letting up.

“By continuing this shutdown, they’re endangering the lives of their employees.”

Jazz Fexton
IRS EMPLOYEE

In class, it was mentioned how powers are being separated in the U.S. federalist system. Expressed power, also known as enumerated powers, are the powers held by the federal government alone. On the other side of the spectrum are reserved powers, which are held for state government. And in the middle, there are concurrent powers, which are powers that are constantly being controlled by federal and state governments. Protecting public health is one of these many concurrent powers. I feel as though health insurance should be supervised by state and required by law, or at least provided by law to better the lives of citizens across the States.

In addition to this article, I have included a picture of statistics showing the number of U.S. citizens that had health insurance in 2009 and in 2015. The data shows that there has been a decrease in those who are uninsured and an increase on those who are insured. Furthermore, these charts show that many Americans have health insurance plans based on their employers. In my opinion, the federal government should be able to provide a certain health care plan that can cover all needs, from dental to medical to vision. Employers should also continue to prove employee benefits and have health insurance plans that can potentially be more rewarding than a federal health care plan.

Although health insurance has been a hot topic in media and in Congress recently, not many people understand the workings of it. Health insurance is not mandated to be handled by any form of government in the U.S. Constitution, just simply regulated in the Elastic Clause. In addition to this, Congress has allowed for the development of federal health insurance programs, like Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, I feel as though these insurance programs are not enough to help the American citizens understand the concept of health insurance, or any insurance for that matter. In order to stop this ignorance, the government and health insurance companies should come together to provide effective workshops to the people and political parties should come together to stop the government shutdown. 

Article: Health insurance becomes collateral damage in the government shutdown as some workers face bills for medical costs
Author: Annie Nova 
Date of publication: January 23, 2019
Source: CNBC