Leave-Behind on my Position of the AHCA
I believe that the American Health Care Act is in place for the well-being of all Americans. Presented in below is my position of the act;
Making health insurance a non-primary issue puts everyone’s well-being at risk because not everyone has the personal push to get a health cover for themselves and their dependents. Making it a necessity for everyone to purchase insurances makes sure that everyone is well set in matters healthcare.
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The introduction of tax credits based on age may not serve a similar purpose as the subsidies that were previously in place. I believe that subsidies were better as they catered for what those from low income could not manage while the tax credits may not be as sufficient when these individuals need to purchase insurance.
Lowering the actuarial value of various health insurance plans means that those covered will need to cater for a higher percentage of the plans as the insurers would leave a higher percentage for Americans to pay for.
I also feel that the increase in the cost of coverage based on age from a ratio of 3:1 to 5:1 puts the older generation at a financial disadvantage
Maintaining the Health Savings Accounts and allowing those who qualify for tax credits to save any unused tax credits in their health savings account are both excellent moves by the act. However, a penalty of cutting ones cover in half due to non-qualified expenses seems to disadvantage those with these accounts and may result in people shying away from owning them.
The rationale for my position in the “leave behind”
As it stands, the AHCA seems to have more shortcomings for its users compared to the previous Obamacare. The provisions in the Act appear to reduce the ease of accessibility of health insurance for those with low incomes. The act seems to ask more from these individuals financially and has no consideration for their healthcare cover in the case they do not manage to meet its requirements. As Eibner, Liu, and Nowak (2017) identify, the act is expected to reduce the number of those who enroll for healthcare insurance substantially. The study they carried out identifies that the rate of enrollment for health insurance would have decreased by more than fourteen million by the year 2020. The results also revealed that the drop would only be significant with time and by 2026, the number would have reached nineteen million seven hundred thousand (Eibner Liu & Nowak, 2017). The scholars believe that the value of the federal investment will eventually decrease over time and that the difference between the per-capita allotment for states and Medicaid costs would make these states to lower eligibility for these covers making it hard for the public to access them.
Further, the act presents a disadvantage to the public especially those from low incomes and it puts in place more requirements to meet for them to be eligible for these covers. The penalties in place are also high which may make people shy away from acquiring these covers. Ku et al. (2017) demonstrate in their study that implementation of the act is accompanied by a reduction in those who enroll for health insurance covers. They believe that the initial phases of its implementation will increase employment opportunities, but many people will likely opt out resulting in more negative consequences not only for patients but the economy at large.
The scenario surrounding my legislative visit
The AHCA presents a controversial issue for me as a member of the American health care system and a concerned American citizen. I believe that as the act is currently displayed, it places the average American, especially the one with a low income at a disadvantage of accessing a health care cover and the extent to which he or she can be covered. I have carefully studied the act while comparing it to the previous Obamacare and I believe that the current act does not consider the financial difficulties of low-income Americans like Obamacare did. I would gladly say that my standpoint is not on political grounds as I gain nothing by supporting one political side over the other, but I gain something when the current American act favors Americans and provides easy access to covers for low-income individuals. All these aspects resulted in my position towards the act which led my legislative visit. I was sure that if I presented my case to one of the representatives in the Congress, especially one who shared the same ideas concerning the act, then I would make progress towards making the act better for every American citizen.
The representative from the Congress was in support of my position concerning the act as he also believed that it did not support every American as it needed. I would say that I carefully chose the representative because we share similar ideas concerning the AHCA. Despite the many ways in which our position concerning the act was similar, three strong points for our stance stood out for me.
Just like I did, the representative believed that the presentation of health insurance as not a must presents a problem for low-income Americans. It is so as many of these individuals have limited financial resources and not catering for a health cover would come as a relief to them. However not getting a health cover for oneself and his or her family could mean the difficulty in accessing various healthcare services.
Subsidies served a better purpose than tax credits as the government would cater for any amount beyond the minimum that one was required to pay. Tax credits based on age means there is no equal access to these federal services by people of all ages making it difficult for many to access the silver health plan.
The lowering of the actuarial value on health care plans means that insurers have the liability of setting these values at a lower percentage leaving more significant percentages for Americans to cater for. Such a move would make it difficult for people to access health insurance as they would need to pay more for them than they did previously.
I believe that my nursing experience presents the most significant influence on my advocacy position towards the act. I take care of many patients in my workplace setting and understand how difficult it often is for many who may not access certain services because their health cover or financial ability cannot afford these services. With first-hand experience of what patients go through to access these services, my advocacy for an all-inclusive health care act would help ensure that every American can access healthcare services even with the cover they choose. Lack of such experience would mean that I may not empathize with Americans as is necessary.
References
Eibner, C., Liu, J. L., & Nowak, S. (2017). The effects of the American Health Care Act on health insurance coverage and federal spending in 2020 and 2026 . Arlington (VA): RAND Corporation.
Ku, L., Steinmetz, E., Brantley, E., Holla, N., & Bruen, B. K. (2017). The American Health Care Act: Economic and Employment Consequences for States. Issue brief (Commonwealth Fund) , 17 , 1.
