A Journal opinion article - Essay Example

ObamaCare a health insurance has the official name of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to Health Care that was enacted into law in 2010 and will be implemented this year. One of the salient implications of the law when it is fully implemented in 2014 would be the enforced coverage of patients which insurance companies presently deem as “high risk”. It will also refocus the policy orientation of health care practices from being reactive (as coverage focuses on treatment) to being proactive as the new health care policy will also put importance on preventive therapies.

Where before check-ups, consultations and preventive therapies requires a co-pay from policy holders, it will no longer be required under the new law so as not to discourage patients from availing preventative measures in looking after their health. Obama’s new health care policy will also address the present inequitable distribution of health care spending. Previously, half of the total expenditures in health care were spent on the 5% of the population and only 3% were spent on the 50% of the population.

As it currently stands, the majority of American population receives only a miniscule fraction of health care expenditure while half of its total health care expenditures were spent on a small privilege number of Americans. Clearly, there was an uneven and inequitable distribution of health care cost allocation which the law would like to address. The new law intends to address and rectify this inequity in health coverage by the mechanism of the Obamacare. Under Obamacare, Government’s funding for Medicaid, the US government’s health care program for lower income families will be expanded thus covering more low income Americans.

In addition, the new health care policy will also expand its coverage to employee’s children the age of 27. Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when fully implemented next year, health insurance companies can no longer refuse coverage adults who have pre-existing conditions. Perhaps this component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act made the law a “true patient’s bill of rights”. This law if fully implemented in 2014 will end one of the most unpleasant practices of insurance companies to unilaterally rescind or cancel a health insurance policy which were becoming a frequent practice among insurance companies to bend the legalities of an insurance coverage to avoid expensive insurance claims.

Also, lifetime caps or limitation of the amount of insurance coverage which is the current practice of insurance companies on individual policies will also be removed when Obama’s new health care policy will be fully implemented in 2014. The budge for Medicare will also increase significantly. This increase of budget in Medicare has an implication to rural hospitals and other health care establishments that have a small number of Medicare patients will also be included in Medicare payment. Although well intended, President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act however was met with rabid criticism.

Recently, Obama care had been the main cause of Republicans and Democrats came into a gridlock that no budget was allocated in 2014 that caused the government to shutdown in October 2014 in the effort of Republicans to defund Obamacare. Among those issues leveled against it and its implication are its added costs because the expanded coverage of Medicaid and Medicare will require additional funding from the federal government.