Officially named the Patient
Protection and Affordable Health Care Act[1],
the health care reform bill signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010
created many changes in health care coverage in the United States.
Its title is often
shortened to just the Affordable Health Care Act. It is also often referred to
as Obamacare. Some call it “the unaffordable health care act.”
The law required all
persons to acquire health insurance and imposed a financial penalty on persons
who did not.
Change to an Obamacare
Requirement and a Lawsuit
A
tax cut bill passed by Congress in 2017 eliminated the financial penalty to
individuals for not purchasing insurance effective this year (2019), so under
current laws persons filing income taxes next year for 2019 will not need to
pay the penalty if they lack health care coverage.
A 2018 lawsuit claimed that
eliminating this financial penalty made the whole law unconstitutional. In December 2018 a U.S. District Court judge
in Texas agreed. The case was appealed.
On Tuesday (July 9, 2019)
a federal appeals court panel in New Orleans heard oral arguments in the case.
This has been reported by various news sources, including the New York Times[2],
Reuters[3],
Politico[4],
CNN[5],
NPR[6],
and the Associated
Press[7].
Whatever this appeals
court eventually decides, the case will likely be appealed to the United States
Supreme Court.
How the United States
Supreme Court ultimately rules on this case, perhaps next year (2020), will
have major implications for health care.
Ideally, it would be
great if the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, the
Republican-controlled Senate, and President Trump could reach agreement on
health care reforms that retain the good parts of Obamacare while either eliminating
or improving the bad parts. But, given deep divisions between Democrats and
Republicans on the issue, this seems unlikely to me.
Perhaps the Biggest
Problem With the ACA
Perhaps the biggest
problem with the “Affordable Health Care Act” (ACA) is that it made health care
coverage more expensive for most persons. Much more expensive for millions.
Even with partial
subsidies, many persons experienced more expensive coverage than before the ACA.
And, due to deductibles, many of those who purchased insurance felt they
couldn’t afford to use it.
One reason for the cost
increase is the need for extra money to pay for coverage for pre-existing
conditions, many of which are preventable. Under the old system prior to the
ACA:
·
insurance companies often excluded
coverage for preexisting conditions,
·
insurance companies cancelled coverage
when it came up for renewal if expensive health problems developed,
·
and/or a person experiencing significant
health care problems lost health coverage due to losing their job because of
health issues that prevented them from working at their job.
Churches and others
sometimes helped persons facing huge medical bills under the old system, but
many persons suffered from lack of coverage. The old insurance system offered
relatively cheap coverage for most persons, partially by not covering the
relatively few who cost the most to insure.
Arguably, most persons
are worse off now under Obamacare, but the millions of persons who benefit from
it would hate to lose their Obamacare coverage.
The Solution?
What is the solution? As
I wrote in a March
Google Blogger post[8],
the greatest need in this country regarding health care is better preventive
care, since most health care problems and costs are preventable.
If we take action to
prevent most preventable health care problems, we can provide quality coverage
to virtually everyone significantly cheaper than we do now.
But, getting persons to avoid
abusing legal and illegal drugs, to exercise regularly, to eat a proper diet,
etc., is easier written than attained. Still, making significant progress in
this may be easier than getting Republicans and Democrats to come together on a
quality compromise bill that fixes Obamacare’s weaknesses.
I hope and pray that somehow
constructive changes occur before next year when the United States Supreme
Court will likely make a decision in this court case. Far too often, our court
system seems led (or forced?) to do things as a result of what I consider
inappropriate actions by our legislative and executive branches.
ENDNOTES:
[1] “Patient
Protection and Affordable Health Care Act”; HealthCare.gov; website accessed
July 10, 2019; https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/
[2] Abby Goodnough;
“Appeals Court Seems Skeptical About Constitutionality of Obamacare Mandate”; New York Times; July 9, 2019; website
accessed July 10, 2019; https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/health/obamacare-appeals-court.html
[3] Nate Raymond;
“U.S. appeals court signals sympathy to bid to strike down Obamacare”; Reuters;
July 9, 2019; https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-obamacare/u-s-appeals-court-to-take-up-constitutionality-of-obamacare-idUSKCN1U40ZU
[4] Paul Demko;
“Appeals court skeptical Obamacare can survive”; Politico; July 9, 2019;
website accessed July 10, 2019; https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/09/obamacare-lawsuit-1404171
[5] Tami Luhby, Dan
Berman, and Joan Biskupic; “Republican-appointed judges appear to side with
Texas challenge to Obamacare”; CNN; July 9, 2019; website accessed July 10,
2019; https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/politics/obamacare-appeal-arguments-texas-california/index.html
[6] Julie Rovner; “The
Affordable Health Care Act Is Back in Court”; 5 Facts You Need to Know”; July
9, 2019; website accessed July 10, 2019; https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/07/09/739653482/the-affordable-care-act-is-back-in-court-5-facts-you-need-to-know
[7] Kevin McGill and
Rebecca Santana; “Validity of Obama health care law at issue in appeal
hearing”; AP News; July 9, 2019; website accessed July 10, 2019; https://www.apnews.com/a3b83b51e2f74699b8fd6c480d953daa
[8] James Edwin
Gibson; “True Health Care Reform: Better Preventive Care”; Google Blogger;
March 30, 2019; webpage accessed July 11, 2019; https://oneopinionsomeviews.blogspot.com/2019/03/true-health-care-reform-better.html
NOTE:
This article submitted to Google Blogger on July 11, 2019 is virtually identical to one the author submitted to another website, Craft News Report which is operated by his friend Paul Craft, on July 10, 2019.
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