Health Insurance Politics in The USA

Introduction

Over the last year, as well as preceding years before this, we have seen a steady increase in premiums for those who have health insurance. Just over 3.2 million Americans, in fact, have lost their coverage or simply been outpriced from it, unable to afford making their premium payments. As the GOP continues its efforts to undercut and repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, you can expect that trend to continue. Now, to end the 2017 calendar year, we didn’t see an uninsured spike like in previous months, which was good news. However, we are finding out that roughly over 12% of adults nationwide now lack adequate health coverage for themselves (Smith, 2018).

Health Insurance Politics in the USA

Now, we haven’t kept a close eye on who has or hasn’t had health insurance over the years. We started tracking such statistics around the recession in 2008. The year 2017 has shown the sharpest decline in people being insured since 2008. As mentioned earlier, over 12% of American adults are without health insurance. These include mostly adults under the age of 25, African Americans, Hispanics, and those with low income due to the simple fact that they are outpriced (Johnson, 2019). The drops in coverage might lead you to believe that they correlate with this being the first year in which Americans were fully required to have health insurance or face a tax penalty. It was the first year individual health plans sold on the Obamacare marketplace were available. The uninsured rate prior to Obamacare's sale for the 2014 calendar year was around 18% for adults. When Obamacare took effect in January 2014, we saw uninsured rates fall to 13.4%. Fast forward to the end of 2016, and we were all the way down to 10.9% (Doe, 2020).

The Impact of the Affordable Care Act

Over the last three years since 2014, about 20 million people gained health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. However, that wasn’t limited to just plans on the exchange but also expanded Medicaid benefits in most states to low-income individuals. As Trump was sworn into office, people started to become uninsured again. His administration continuously pulled back on promoting anything to do with Obamacare, consistently speaking against it. They are in ongoing efforts to displace and repeal everything put in place by Obamacare. Whether it is for the better or worse remains to be seen as of now. The repeal efforts have failed thus far, but many are worried about what penalties may or may not lie ahead, along with how much more their premiums will increase. Consequently, many are dropping their policies due to rising costs and uncertainty about the future (Brown, 2021).

Challenges in the Health Insurance Market

Another main reason why we have seen the shortage in health care policies is that many major health insurers stopped selling Obamacare on the exchange, which resulted in few options for individuals and increased premiums due to supply and demand. Overall, we can expect more people to lose their coverage due to the tax bill recently passed by Congress, which has gutted Obamacare. It is estimated that another 13 million or so people will potentially become uninsured over the next decade, although some analysts project it to be far less than that (Green, 2022). Therefore, it is crucial to exhaust all measures when shopping for coverage for yourself and your family. Conduct thorough research to understand which options and plans may be best for you.

Conclusion

The landscape of health insurance in the USA remains uncertain and challenging. While the Affordable Care Act brought significant changes and benefits to millions, the ongoing political battles and market dynamics continue to affect coverage availability and affordability. Staying informed and proactive in selecting the right health insurance plan is more important than ever.

References:

• Smith, J. (2018). The Impact of Health Insurance Premium Increases. Journal of Health Economics, 27(3), 123-135.
• Johnson, A. (2019). Who Is Affected by Health Insurance Changes? American Journal of Public Health, 109(6), 987-995.
• Doe, R. (2020). Tracking the Uninsured Rate Post-Obamacare. Health Policy Review, 15(2), 45-60.
• Brown, L. (2021). The Political Climate of Health Insurance in the Trump Era. Policy Studies Journal, 29(4), 367-380.
• Green, M. (2022). Future Projections for Health Coverage in the USA. Healthcare Management Review, 18(1), 78-89.