NSG 4068 Week 3 Discussion This week’s discussion focuses on the federal government’s role in protecting the public’s health using the ACA and current efforts to “repeal and replace” the ACA.

Based on the research and analysis of ACA and ACHA, the critical goal of the ACA was to ensure affordable health care is provided among all citizens regardless of their health condition, level of income, and age. Ordinarily, the insurance companies would have charged those with pre-existing conditions more than others without such conditions. Through this, the ACA helped avoid healthcare costs through regulations and imposed taxation on people who gained the most from healthcare, such as the insurers and the pharmaceutical companies (Obama Care Explained an Explanation of Obama Care, 2020). Moreover, in the states that have realized expansion in Medicaid, childless adults earning less than 100% of the Federal Poverty Level are now covered by Medicaid at no less than 90% federal match.

Share your opinions about why the AHCA failed in the first attempt at passage.

In the first trial, the ACHA failed based on its lack of merits. It would, therefore, cause unfavorable changes to the Americans. For instance, it would have cut off Medicaid, making it challenging to attain eligibility for healthcare coverage by reducing federal support for Medicaid (Aron-Dine et al., 2020). Such action would leave many people out of healthcare coverage and increase Medicaid premiums or force people to pay their pockets’ health expenses. This condition adversely affected people with low incomes since they could not afford the premiums or the related healthcare expenses. ACA and ACHA differed so that if a person had a healthcare plan, they could charge the premiums based on age. However, in ACA they could only charge 3% more for the aged than the young people, while ACHA     would charge about 5% more for the aged.

References:

Obama Care Explained an Explanation of Obama Care (November 2, 2020). Retrieved from: https://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-explained/

Aron-Dine, A., Schubel, J., Solomon, J., Broaddus, M., & Hayes, K. (2020). Larger, Longer-Lasting Increases in Federal Medicaid Funding Needed to Protect Coverage. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The Future of U.S. Health Care: Replace or Revise the Affordable Care Act? (n.d). Retrieved from: https://www.rand.org/health-care/key-topics/health-policy/in-depth.html

Facts about ACA (n.d). Retrieved from:  https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned- parenthood-upper-Hudson/patient-resources/facts-about-aca