Spence Fullmer

Trevor Smith
Writing 1010
04 May 2016
Government Health Care:
Not What America Wants, But What It Needs

Every one of us has heard that people do not like change. I admit that
if I recently had not reached the point that I needed to start paying for health
insurance I would would have an apathetic point of view. With the recent
overhaul of our health care system, we all experienced a major change. It is
easy to to look at these changes and immediately assume that they are all
bad, but this is not true.
Our previous health care system made it hard for some people to
obtain coverage for a variety of reasons such as pre-existing conditions.
Some of these issues make them uninsurable. This unavailability of coverage
or a social injustice is a big problem(King, Harper,Young) . King and his
associates have highlighted in their research the gap between those who can
afford health care and those who cannot. This health care gap exists in the
United States as well as in the rest of the world, though not exactly similar
they do have familiar defining characteristics.
In our own communities there are those who did not have the
opportunity to obtain health insurance if the Affordable Health Care Act or
ACA was not created. There are those that would say that it is there own
fault that they cannot afford insurance, and in some cases they would be

right. In other cases they would be wrong. Whatever the case may be if
these individuals and families where able to get insured it would help take
some of the strain and misuse of our currant health care system; such as
using the emergency room for minor treatment that could have been given
in a clinic if they had insurance.
The largest aspect that makes health care coverage affordable is the
subsidized plans they offer. Is most or all cases candidates will qualify for
credits to make their health care affordable. If you make under 84,000
dollars a year, you qualified for some sort of subsidized plan. It is unclear if
the program will be successful if all or most of the plans are subsidized, but if
the people who need coverage are getting it at the price they can afford as
well as those who can afford more are paying higher premiums the program
should be able to sustain itself. However this may uncover another sort of
social injustice, the wealthy will all most certainly cry out against it on
account that they are paying more for the same coverage as someone in a
lower income bracket. It is unlikely that this will be the case, the ACA was not
designed for the wealthy, it was designed for the lower income brackets. It is
most logical that the wealthy among us will have the money to purchase a
health care plan that will cost more, but be better suited to there lifestyle.
With such an increase of patents the issue with funding the Affordable
Care Act should work itself out Jeffery Buck addressed this concern in his
article The Looming Expansion And Transformation Of Public Substance
Abuse Treatment Under The Affordable Care Act found in the Health Affaires

Journal. Buck reports that 18.8 million people were insured in 2009, and
there were as many as 44.1 million insured in 2015. This data shows two
things, one there is now a larger pool of people who are paying for there
insurance as well as their treatment. Secondly, there is a huge number of
people who paid a fine between the years of 2009 and 2015, whether or not
the money that has been generated form these fines is being put back into
the health care industry I do not know. If this money is being put back into
the health care system it must certainty help fund this enormous change. I
personally would have had to pay a fine of 1,a300 dollars if I did not have
coverage for the entire year of 2015 for my family of three. If others in
America had to pay fines similar to these there is a large amount of money
that if used for health care purposes would help sustain this costly system.
There are some bad things to be said about this way to treat the health
care epidemic. Those who have had a private plan previous to the ACA are
most likely experiencing higher monthly premiums without an increase in
their coverage. This feels unfair, however there is a huge problem in our
country regarding our health care system. It is true those who have been
able to pay for their health care voluntary are now helping monetarily those
who did not have coverage in the past. If this is unfair maybe it would help
you if you looked at it from a different point of view. Instead of looking at it
as a burden you can look at it as contributing to society. If this paradigm
shift does not help you feel better. Just think of how happy Grandma Jones is
now that she can afford her oxygen.

There are also those who say that people are now paying for
something they do not want. Perhaps another paradigm shift would be
helpful to change your thinking. Now young adults are on their parents
insurance until they reach the age of 26. This is a smart thing; young adults
seam to be invincible until they really hurt themselves. The same is true
when it comes to their preventative health care habits. If we where all to
take a greater interest in our futures and take better care of our bodies
starting at a younger age we all would thank ourselves when we grow older.
Its true we all do not likely like change, or paying more money for
anything. It is also true that the Affordable Care Act is a team effort. Its like
rooting for your favorite sports team. They may not be doing good right now,
but give it some time and your favorite quarterback will develop his arm and
deliver his passes where he intends to with greater accuracy. With time your
local basketball team will pass the ball quicker and faster leading to a higher
scoring game. America is a team, we will need to act like one if The
Affordable Care Act is going to succeed. The deceased John F. Kennedy said
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country.

Works cited

Buck, Jeffery A. "The Looming Expansion And Transformation Of Public

Substance Abuse Treatment Under The Affordable Care Act." Health Affaires
35.4 (2016). Web. 24 Apr.

2016.

King, Nicholas B., Sam Harper, and Meredith E Young. "Who Cares about
Health Inequalities?
Cross-country Evidence from the World Health Survey." Oxford Journals
28.5 (2012):
558-71. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.