As you’ve probably heard, the Affordable Care Act has had a bit of a bumpy rollout. At first, healthcare.gov, the website used to enroll new customers, was having technical difficulties. Individuals were unable to sign up for the exchange through the website. Congressional hearings were held, and the creators of the website were questioned relentlessly. In addition to the website not operating as expected, people were being kicked off their existing insurance plans. This was not exactly what the Democrats had planned, and the Republicans were letting them hear it. So who really is to blame for all of these struggles and what can be done to fix them?
Republicans would like to say President Barack Obama is responsible for this whole mess. President Obama said multiple times before the law went into effect that if you liked your coverage plan, you could keep it after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. This promise has turned to be problematic as people have been losing their plans. Republicans say that President Obama has broken this promise to the American people.
I disagree with that. President Obama is not the one who broke the promise. He held up his end of the dealt was the insurance companies who didn’t meet their end. The reason plans are being cancelled is because these plans do not meet the minimum standards required by the ACA. Lawmakers knew people had these plans prior to 2010 and that some might want to keep them, so lawmakers accounted for this. When the ACA was passed March 2010, there was a provision that said people who had these plans prior to the passage of the bill would be grandfathered in and would be allowed to keep the plans. Canceling the plans because they do not meet the set standards are all plans that were sold after the passage of the ACA. Insurance companies knew these plans did not comply with the ACA and would be cancelled but they continued to sell them. President Obama could do nothing about this. So the blame does not rest with President Obama, rather the insurance companies.
Solutions are needed for both these issues. IT specialists are working non-stop on the healthcare.gov website, and a solution to this problem is being devised. It is essential that this solution is given time to fabricate and rushing it will only cause a larger mess.
As for the issue of plans being cancelled, President Obama and Republicans each have their own solution to fix the problem. Representative Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan, has introduced a bill that he thinks will fix the issue. In his plan, people would be allowed to purchase plans that do not meet the standards set by the ACA for no penalty. This is a terrible idea because it will undercut the entire bill. These low cost plans are usually sold to younger, healthier people who do not need such comprehensive plans. By allowing these plans to continue to exist, they are essentially cutting out the legs from under the Affordable Care Act. Premiums will rise because the market will be skewed toward individuals who are more prone to injury or sickness.
It is critical that young people sign up for health care exchanges because they balance the market, and ensure the insurance market remains solvent. By allowing people to keep these low cost plans without penalty, the Affordable Care Act will fail.
President Obama has proposed a much more rational plan for the issue. In his proposal, these plans can be sold for another year to people who have already purchased one. This will allow people with these plans another year to search for ones that fit the standards set by the ACA. President Obama’s proposal will smooth the transition and rollout of the ACA, unlike Representative Upton’s plan that would set the ACA up to fail.
As President Obama has said, the rollout was fumbled. Mistakes were made, and this is unfortunate. However, this is only a small part of the big game, and there are solutions to the problems. Lawmakers need to take a step back, and it is essential to realize patience is of the utmost importance.
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