Last October, the Affordable Care Act’s insurance-registration website was moved to live at healthcare.gov. At the time, the site’s unveiling was nothing short of a disaster. Few people were even able to access the site at all, and those who could were not able to register for health insurance. Critics of the Affordable Care Act experienced a sort of schadenfreude and took the site’s failure as a sign that the Act would also fail. The doubt that the legislation would be successful increased as the deadline for registration approached and the site was far from its goals. In hopes of getting more people to register, the federal government extended the health-insurance registration deadline 30 days to March 31.
Against all odds, the first registration period though healthcare.gov was considered a success. By April 1, the number of people who had registered via the site was more than 7.1 million. This meant the Department of Health and Human Services comfortably passed its goal of having 7 million citizens use the site to obtain health insurance. Although the Affordable Care Act still faces criticism from many conservatives, this is an important milestone for universe health care in the United States. Here are important considerations for Americans and the Affordable Care Act as we move forward.
Health Insurance for All
As a result of the Affordable Care Act, it is now illegal for providers to deny people health insurance for any pre-existing conditions. In addition, insurers cannot charge higher premiums for pre-existing conditions. The exception would be if you’re a smoker, because by smoking you’re knowingly damaging your health. This is similar to penalties homeowners incur if they do not properly manage parts of their property. For example, if you have a pool you need to have pool enclosures to protect neighborhood children.
Health-Care Registration
Although the government used the number of people who registered through the site to quantify its success, this may not have been the best measure. Many people who obtained coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act probably never visited healthcare.gov. This is especially true given the site’s early setbacks.
It’s likely that many Americans, knowing they needed coverage by end of the March, did not want to take the chance that the site would not work for them. Many obtained coverage through other providers. Many citizens may have already had plans in mind when this law was enacted — for example, some people may now have been able to take advantage of plans offered through their employers. As of right now, we don’t know how many people received health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Until we have this number, we don’t really know how successful the Act is to date.
Concerns About Universal Health Insurance and the Affordable Care Act
There have been a number of arguments against universal health insurance. Some worry that if more people receive medical care, hospitals will become overwhelmed and the quality of care will go down. Although it’s difficult to find concrete evidence that this will happen, some worry that little things will start to slip. For example, WFI water in syringes may become contaminated if someone forgets to clean the supply closet, which could lead to infection. In addition, one of the most common complaints about the Act is that some citizens feel it should not be illegal to decline health insurance. Some people, such as young, healthy adults, may not get sick that often and may not want health-insurance coverage. Under the Affordable Care Act, all Americans are required to have health insurance whether they want it or not.
When passing the Act, the government said it would impose a penalty on all Americans who decided not to register. Those who did not register by the end of March will be hit with a tax penalty next year. Given the initial difficulties with healthcare.gov, though, it’s possible that the government may lessen the fee or give Americans more time to register with facing a penalty. This is especially true for those who had begun registration but did not complete it on healthcare.gov.
For better or for worse, millions more Americans now have health insurance. The government has also been able to reduce health-care spending, meaning there’s less of a tax burden on Americans. What do you think the successes and failures of the Act are to date?