10 Evaluation Essay Topics on Affordable Care Act

Today we are going to help you better understand the Affordable Care Act so that you can write a good essay based on it. People generally know very little about ACA, especially those not insured and that’s something we need to focus on. The law itself remains unpopular but some of its parts have generated a lot of press.

This law makes it possible to bring about low rates, quality care, available insurance plans and cost cutting measures that will be imposed on insurance companies from both public and private sectors.

1. In response to the questions raised about the effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated that, on balance, the amount of people who are getting medical care from their employers would decrease by 3 million by the year 2019, under the current legislation. According to CBO’s latest projections, between 2019 and 2022, up to 5 million people will stop taking coverage from their employers in comparison to the previous law.
2. According to the Affordable Care Act families that are making less than 133 percent below poverty line, which sits around $29,000 for an average family of four, will be covered under the national social insurance program known as Medicare. Families lie between 133 percent to 400 percent below the poverty line, which adds up to around $88,000 for a single family of four, will get a relieving tax credit on a sliding scale, so that they are financially capable to pay for private insurance.
3. Premiums are capped for families that are currently earning less than 400 percent of the poverty line. This means that families earning between 150 percent and 200 percent below the poverty line will not be obligated to pay anything above 6.3 percent of their earning in premiums. Similarly if a family is earning between 300 and 400 percent of below the poverty line, they won’t have to pay more than 9.5 percent. The formula is available for everyone to use, moreover there is an online calculator established by the Kaiser Family Foundation which makes it easier for families with all kinds of earning levels to calculate their subsidies and caps.
4. Those who can afford coverage when the individual mandate kicks in and choose to overlook it, if their insurance costing is less than 8 percent of their entire annual income, must pay an amount of $695 or 2.5 percent of their entire annual income. Whichever is greater will take precedence over the other.
5. Small businesses having less than 10 employees, with average wages below or up to $25,000 who provide insurance policies for their workers, are eligible for a tax credit of up to 50 percent on their contributions. Tax credit also applies to small businesses having around 50 employees where average wages go up to $50,000. However, the tax credit amount gets smaller as the business expands and prospers.
6. Insurance companies are restricted to evaluating cases of individuals based on pre-existing conditions. Factors that the insurance companies can take under consideration are age, premium rating area, usage of tobacco and family composition.
7. The law obligates employer-provided health plans to pay taxes up to 35 percent if a single employee’s coverage exceeds $10,200 or if a single family’s coverage exceeds $27,500. This policy is to make sure that employers avoid going for expensive insurance policies; this way the insurance companies are forced to keep their costs down. Tax code deductions of employer-based health insurance plans, which are currently unlimited, is also capped.
8. The ACA makes sure around 1 trillion dollars are spent in the next ten years. The law ensures there are spending cuts, most of which apply to medicare, and certain increases in tax as well, as it will help to either save money or raise more of it. This is one of the reasons why the CBO has speculated that the deficit itself will go down as a result. As time passes, savings will be better matched with expenses and even exceed expenses The CBO expects the ACA law to bring the deficit down by a staggering trillion dollars in the coming decade.
9. According to surveys, healthcare costs have alarmingly slowed down. Some blame this unstable outcome on the recession while others believe that it’s merely by chance. Experts, however, deduce that this is due to the ACA going through quick changes in how the medical care system works. ACA has forced care-providers to shift their agendas to quality based payments.
10. The long term effects of ACA will be based on controlling costs to ensure the entire healthcare system is reformed. ACA encourages Accountable Care Organizations to distribute Medical Homes as a gesture to penalize hospitals charging their patients more than necessary, for preventable infections. This leads to the establishment of a separate board in which new reforms are incorporated via the medicare system.

These facts are sure to spark your creative juices so you can write great topics on the subject matter. In addition, check out our 20 topics on Affordable Care Act for an evaluation essay to get a better idea and a complete guide for assignments of this kind.

Healthcare acts cover the public and private healthcare needs, and are based on a long term strategy to not only achieve an affordable healthcare plan but also bring down the economic deficit.

References:
2015 Affordable Care Act: Law, Regulatory Explanation And Analysis. (n.d.).
Amadeo, K. (2015). Ultimate Obamacare Handbook (2015?2016 Edition). Skyhorse Publishing.
Askin, E., & Moore, N. (n.d.). The Health Care Handbook: A Clear And Concise Guide To The United States Health Care System.
Brill, S. (n.d.). America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, And The Fight To Fix Our Broken Healthcare System.
Bromley, K. (n.d.). The Employer’s Guide To Obamacare: What Profitable Business Owners Know About The Affordable Care Act.
Emanuel, E. J. (n.d.). Reinventing American Health Care: How The Affordable Care Act Will Improve Our Terribly Complex, Blatantly Unjust, Outrageously Expensive, Grossly Inefficient, Error Prone System.
Katz, M. (n.d.). Healthcare Made Easy: Answers To All Of Your Healthcare Questions Under The Affordable Care Act.