Cons Of The Affordable Care Act

A total of 7.1 million Americans have signed up for availing insurance under the new affordable health care act. The fact that this figure exceeds the target set by the government is being perceived as a positive indicator. For six months experts debated over the issue of Obamacare, some touted it as the greatest effort in cleaning up the health insurance industry while others saw it as a useless legislation. Experts are still divided over the issue, but one thing is for sure – the American public has shown great interest in affordable care act. It looks like the outreach efforts of the Obama administration have bore fruits. The supporters of the affordable care act talk only about its positive points, but don’t be mistaken, just like any other act this act also has its cons. In this article we will shed some light on these cons (negative points) that might have stayed hidden from the public eye till now.

Bad News for those who Liked their existing Insurance Plans:

Approximately 30 million Americans are already insured by some health insurance provider. The affordable care act will negate some of the insurance plans that donor comply with the 10 essential health benefits laid down by the drafting committee. It means that if your existing insurance plan doesn’t comply with the 10 essential points then it will get cancelled. This can very well result in overall increased cost of health insurance.

You might Lose your Group Insurance:

Many people get their health insurance from their employers, it is called group insurance. It is speculated that about 3-5 million Americans can lose their employer-provided-insurance because some business organizations might find it more economical to pay the penalty and let their employees buy their own insurance at the marketplace.

Might Result in Increased Spending on Healthcare:

The affordable care act has made it mandatory for all health insurance providers to cover all the screening tests related to some chronic diseases like cancer. In a long term it will decrease the spending on health care as it will help in diagnosing fatal diseases at an early stage. But if we consider the immediate effects of this provision then it is definitely going to increase the health care spending for a short term. Some experts have opined that the American economy is not ready to afford any such increments in health care spending even for a short term.

Lesser Tax Credits:

Before the affordable care act came in to power, any medical expense that exceeded 7.5 percent of the total income was deductible, but now the ceiling has been raised up to 10 percent of the total income. This could mean a bad news for the middle class Americans who cannot afford to pay higher taxes.

We don’t say that this act is full of flaws. The point is that if there are benefits then there are some negative aspects too. According to a survey, approximately 54% Americans have a negative opinion about the Obamacare and many are still campaigning to get the act repealed.

Brianna Wilson works for Healthcare Solutions Team. She is licensed with over 40 major health care insurance companies and helps people to discover best health insurance plan.

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