AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Affordable Care Act

Affordable Care Act

Introduction

According to diverse sources, there have been several reforms brought to the healthcare system of the United States. The healthcare system of the United States is one of the most expensive healthcare industries of the world. Hence, there have been several bills proposed to improve the cost-efficiency of the healthcare services. There have been several conflicts subjected at the recently proposed Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). The affordable care act has been challenged at several federal courts; in addition, the act has been subjected to diverse criticism. Obama challenged state governments to show they could develop working alternatives to the federal health care law. "If your state can create a plan that covers as many people as affordably and comprehensively as the Affordable Care Act does--without increasing the deficit--you can implement that plan. And we'll help you to do it," Obama said.

Several Republicans said it would be too difficult to meet the requirements for exemptions, and that the proposal did not address their fundamental objections to the health care law. Also, the measure would need to be passed by Congress, and Republican leaders in the House said their only goal was to repeal the health care law. Under the proposed bill, beginning in 2014, states would be allowed to develop feasible alternatives to the federal law, as long as they added comparable numbers of people to insurance rolls without increasing the federal deficit. (The health care law as currently written contained the same provisions allowing for state alternatives, but they would not take effect until 2017). Analysts said the announcement appeared to be part of a strategy to undercut strenuous opposition to the health care law by Republicans. Some critics of the health care law said it was too rigid, and that states were better suited than the federal government to address the health care issue.

Healthcare Reform Proposed by Obama

Obama also said his administration would work to lower the costs of the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, which was paid for by both the federal and state governments, but managed at the state level. Governors in recent months had complained that the Medicaid program was becoming too costly for states. Obama called for a bipartisan commission of governors to develop ideas for how to lower Medicaid costs. But he did not discuss specific cost-lowering ideas (Gorin, 2011).

Several Republican governors March 1, in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, reiterated their complaints about the health care law, and requested more help with their ballooning Medicaid costs. The Medicaid program currently had about 53 million people enrolled in it. Under the health care law, program eligibility would be extended to add another 20 million people in 2014 (Gorin, 2011). The federal government would initially pay the full cost of the expansion, but states would eventually be responsible for 10% of costs by 2017.

Republican legislators March 1 also released a report which concluded that the Medicaid expansion would burden states with additional costs of $118 ...