Obamacare The Great Debate - 1404 Words

Obamacare: The Great Debate The Obama Presidency is known for many things: two wars, economy crashes, government shutdowns and, yes, the infamous Obamacare. Throughout the last six years, President Obama’s agenda was set towards passing a major healthcare reform bill: The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA), more commonly known as Obamacare. Passed on March 23, 2010 under considerable opposition, ACA is widely considered to be the landmark achievement of Obama’s presidency, and his hopeful legacy for historians long afterward. The law has since survived multiple challenges regarding its legality, but its impact on the intended (original) goal of reducing medical costs is still unclear. Affordable healthcare for all†¦show more content†¦Its size and complexity makes it is very difficult to implement and even more difficult to understand. Even Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House, echoed this air of uncertainty while advocating for passage of the bill in 2010 whe n stating â€Å"But we have to pass the bill to learn what is in it.† Once the bill became law, arguments arose when discussion began on the specific details, regulations, and strategy for implementation. There are endless angles to approach this law, each with a mix of fact, bias, and prediction. Most viewpoints agree with the primary goal of Obamacare, to make healthcare affordable for everyone, but differ on the balance between the roles that government and private insurance companies should play in the solution. All the ifs, ands, or buts can cause chaos, as nothing of this size has ever been passed before. No matter the opinion or bias, it all comes down to the age-old battle over power and money. SUBSIDIES Obamacare, in its original form, was intended to function primarily at a state level. The deal was that each state would set up an online exchange where US citizens could log in to their state’s â€Å"exchange† to select a government-sanctioned healthcare insurance plan that was right as well as affordable. The Federal government raised taxes and worked Obamacare into its budget, figuring to disperse money to the states for funding of the program; this money is called a subsidy. The subsidies would be sent to the