The health care reform law, proposed by President Barack Obama, came into force in 2010 as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” Commonly known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, the goal of this health care legislation was to bring down the health care cost and improve the quality of life for the people who are unable to get health insurance from their employers.
Call us at 407-344-1228 for your FREE Obamacare consultation or email us at [email protected] for any insurance needs you may have.
It was analyzed that the health care spending on Medicare was unsustainable and the payroll taxes and premiums were only able to cover 57% of the benefits attained. Hence, the remaining expense was covered through general revenue. This predicted that the general revenues will have to pay nearly 62% of the Medicare cost by 2030.
Therefore, the need for reforms in health care was extensively needed.
Obamacare in Orlando, FLintended to lower cost in two main regimes that contributed the most to the overall healthcare cost: the emergency rooms and chronic illnesses. The ultimate intention of the health care legislationwas to make the care coverage affordable for more people and allow them to get quality preventive care.
The legislation tended to subsidize the chronic illness treatment medication for aging adults, and help people avoid high costs of emergency care.
The subsidies made part of Obamacare in Orlando, FLis paid through levying more taxes on the higher income families and some of the health care providers meeting certain eligibility criteria defined by the law-forming government.
Also, under the provisions of Obamacare in Orlando, FL,everyone is obligated to get insurance or they would be forced to pay more taxes. This health care legislationforced the young and healthy people to pay for the premiums, too.
The Aim of the Law
As mentioned, the primary objective of Obamacare in Orlando, FLis to lower the health care spending and make health care services affordable for the Americans. It intends to extend the health insurance to 15% of the American population who doesn’t have insurance coverage for their health.
This especially includes poor and the elderly, and the workers who do not have health coverage from their employers.
The health care legislationobligated all the Americans to have health insurance or they’d have to pay more taxes. This mandate, however, was challenged but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the legislation, stating that the government has the constitutional right to impose taxes on people who refuse the insurance.
The law offers subsidies to make the coverage more affordable and intends to reduce the insurance cost by bringing the younger and healthier people into the insurance base. The Obamacare in Orlando, FLalso obligates businesses with over 50 employees to offer health insurance to their full-time employees. This provision wasn’t imposed right away and was allowed time until 2015 to achieve more compliance.
Under the health care legislation, Obamacare in Orlando, FL, the insurance companies are prohibited to deny health coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions. Moreover, the age limit for people remaining in their parents’ insurance plan has been extended to 26 years and the eligibility criteria for Medicare and Medicaid is also modified.
The Government-run Website for Price Comparison
To facilitate the people, a government website was created to allow the people to search information regarding health insurance companies their available plan so that they would have a better idea about the market and get a price comparison for different insurance plans.
The federally administered website, “Healthcare.gov” serves as a marketplace for the people of 36 states to compare their insurance plans and learn more about the public subsidies. The website even allows them to sign up for the coverage under Obamacare in Orlando, FL. The remaining 14 states and Washington have their own websites to cater to the purpose.
The website suffered quite a few technical glitches at the federal portal and posed challenges to the government in executing the needful. However, despite the obstruction, the sign-up figure reached up to 6 million in five months’ time.
Changes Required by the Affordable Care Act
Under Obamacare in Orlando, FL,the changes in the health care system of the United States were required in two phases. The first phase entailed the changes that were to be implemented in the first 180 days of the implementation of the law, and the second phase of changes was to be implemented in 2011.
In the first six months, Obamacare in Orlando, FLendeavored to close the coverage gap in Medicare Part D which entailed the prescription drug coverage. Under this provision, the senior citizens of the United States are entitled to $250 refund on closing the coverage gap.
Another change to be achieved within the first six months was the establishment and functioning of a federally-run website where people could search for information about the health care companies and compare insurance plans to find the best one.
The health care legislationexempted the exclusion of preexisting conditions from health insurance coverage, and this provision, too, was to be implemented within the first six months of the enforcement of the Obamacare in Orlando, FL.
In the following year, Obamacare in Orlando, FLprovided protections to the patients in terms of choosing the doctors. It allowed the plan members to pick the participating primary care provider and excluded the prior requirement of gaining the authorization of insurance provider before a female patient seeing a gynecologist.
In the second phase, the new health care legislationextended the dependent coverage for young adults. It exceeded the age limit to 26 years for children to remain in their parents’ insurance plan. Thirdly, all new health insurance policies are required to cover preventive care and pay a portion for the care visits.
Obamacare in Orlando, FLeliminates the maximum limit on the lifetime insurance coverage. Prior to this, there was an amount limit set by the insurance providers that they agree to pay on behalf of the member during their lifetime. This practice is now exempted under the health care legislation of the Affordable Care Act 2010. Similarly, the annual limits on the coverage are also put an end to under Obamacare in Orlando, FL.
The legislation also compels the insurance company to facilitate the consumer to make an appeal in case of any problem with their coverage. There are almost 1000 provisions in Obamacare in Orlando, FLthat were enforced in phases.
By 2014, the federal subsidies were regulated for the health insurance coverage and the tax credits for small businesses were up to 50% of premiums. From the same year onwards, all insurance companies are obligated to provide insurance to all adults aging between 19 and 64 years who apply for the coverage.
Controversies Opposing the Law
Ever since its proposal, the Obamacare in Orlando, FLis opposed by the Republican Party and has been subjected to modification under the Trump Administration. At the time of its enforcement, the opposition claimed that the health care legislationwasn’t business friendly and was a “job killer.” They also alleged it as an unwarranted intrusion in private business matters and individuals.
The legal petition was launched against the law in 2010 but the Supreme Court of the United States declared the Affordable Care Act as constitutional law.
In 2013, the budget proposed by the government included funding for Obamacare. This was highly opposed by the opposition and they shut down the federal government. The glitches in the federal website also become the center of controversy and its efficiency was highly debated.
Another objection that Obamacare in Orlando, FLfaced was the raised taxes for high earners. For people earning more than $200,000 annually were bound to pay more in order to contribute to the subsidy allocated for the lower income group insurance cost coverage.
On its implementation, a lot of businesses pulled off the employee health insurance plans because the provisions in the health care legislationmade it more expenses. This resulted in 5 million people losing their employer-based insurance. The consequence of not having an insurance plan under Obamacare in Orlando, FLis to pay more taxes. This has stirred a lot of objection from the public and the opposition.
Trump Administration’s Attempt to Modify Obamacare
Trump Administration proposed the “American Patients First” Plan to modify the preceding health care legislation.The focus of the Plan is to contain the rising cost of drugs and lower the premiums on the Affordable Care Act plans. Also, the open enrollment period is cut to half and funding on advertising and outreach is reduced. The individual mandate is eliminated and the penalty is nullified. This act, however, is currently being appealed.
For the low-income participants, the federal payments to reduce out-of-pocket costs have also been exempted and insurers are asked to cover the loss. The states are also now enabled to apply for waivers to make changes in the Obamacare marketplaces.
The objective behind the measures taken by the current government to modify Obamacare is to provide greater and better access to more affordable health insurance options to the citizens, especially younger Americans.
Call us at 407-344-1228 for your FREE Obamacare consultation or email us at [email protected] for any insurance needs you may have.