15 November 2016

Dear Future President:

Eight years ago, your predecessor to the presidency, Barack Obama, was elected president and then inaugurated into office months later. During the 2008 election, he stated that healthcare reform would be one of his top four priorities as president. He began working with Congress on healthcare reform and soon bills were being approved by the House. After being approved by the House and the Senate, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010, by President Barack Obama. Since then, the average number of uninsured during the period from January to September 2014 was 11.4 million fewer than the average in 2010. The Affordable Care Act, or the ACA, has helped many people, both rich and poor, to get the health insurance they need. If you had no way to pay for health insurance that you and your family needed, wouldn’t you want a reform like this to give you that option?

Although many people have benefited from the ACA, there are people who believe that it will ultimately harm our economy and be detrimental to our healthcare system. They say that the ACA is bad for business and job creation because employers are required to provide the minimum healthcare for their employees which is costing them more money which will result in them laying off employees or cutting their hours as to avoid complying with the ACA. It has also created uncertainty for small businesses who, because of the ACA are not taking the risk in hiring people. Health insurance premiums have also been rising at a faster rate under the ACA. The average American county’s rate rose 49 percent from 2013 to 2014. Also, under the ACA, insurers are being forced to ask for higher rates because the policyholders are older and sicker than the government had forecasted. Some physicians do not support the ACA because of what their patients are telling them and because of what they have seen. The patients continue to report delays in signing up for ACA policies, they have high deductibles, and they have a narrow network of doctors to choose from.

The ACA has already succeeded in one of its key purposes and has cut the cost of healthcare spending. The price for healthcare services has also lowered which creates more money in the taxpayers pocket, and federal and state governments have been able to cut what the projected spending on healthcare would have been. Healthcare premiums are increasing but not ridiculously through the roof as some believe. The average increase for the ACA will be 8.2 percent, and while this is significant, it is still less than the 10 percent that was typical before the ACA. Physicians who are in support of the ACA see the benefits of it and how it has helped so many people. Today, because of the ACA, 16.4 million more people have health insurance, hospitals and individuals who are working together have prevented more than 150,000 readmissions into the hospital, and taxpayers and individuals alike have saved billions of dollars. Overall, the reforms of the ACA will reduce the federal deficit by 100 billion dollars through 2022, which will help taxpayers at all income levels, the rich and poor alike.

Overall, the Affordable Care Act has done more good than harm and has helped millions of people to get insured for their health. There may be some problems with it, but no reform is perfect, and there will always be someone who has an issue with it. It has saved us money, saved us time in preventing readmissions to hospitals, it has helped more people to be insured, and it has cut the costs of healthcare. It provides a way for people who may not have been able to get their own health insurance with a way to make sure that they and their family are protected. People will no longer have to worry about what will happen if their family gets hurt and they have to receive medical care that they don’t have the means to pay for. The Affordable Care Act provides a sense of security for our nation when it comes to healthcare. It has helped many already and will help many more in the future.

Sincerely,

Madeline Dartez

Bibliography

Brenner, Sara Marie. "The Affordable Care Act Will Hurt the US Economy." The Affordable Care Act, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&currPage=&scanId=&query=&source=&prodId=OVIC&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=&u=lafa43079&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010925210&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016. Originally published as "Obamacare Trainwreck: Bankrupting, Hurting and Killing America" in Washington Times, 26 Sept. 2013.

"Do Physicians Support Obamacare? - Debated." ProCon.org, 11 June 2015, healthcarereform.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001830. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.

Harrop, Froma. "The Affordable Care Act Will Benefit Rich and the Poor Alike." The Affordable Care Act, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&currPage=&scanId=&query=&source=&prodId=OVIC&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=&u=lafa43079&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010925207&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016. Originally published as "Harrop: Obamacare Is Good for America" in Athens Banner-Herald, 28 Nov. 2013.

"Have Health Insurance Premiums Been Rising at a Faster Rate Under Obamacare? - Debated." ProCon.org, 15 July 2016, healthcarereform.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001834. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.