While few would argue that some changes to the U.S. health care system were necessary, most agree that the Affordable Care Act has many negative aspects in addition to its obvious positives.
The law has expanded health insurance to roughly 31 million additional Americans, but there are implications of the law that are having a negative effect on all citizens, regardless of their insurance status.
If you ask Democrats about the ACA, you might hear about how it provides near-universal access to health insurance for Americans.
If you ask Republicans, you’ll likely hear about how the insurance mandate is killing jobs and health care quality.
If you ask college students, you might hear about how you can stay on your parents’ insurance until the age of 26, a saving grace for many.
If you ask a health care professional, well, you will hear a variety of opinions.
However, one major fault of “Obamacare” that no one can argue is the fact that patient responsibility is not included in the bill.
Working with insurance customers and patients on a daily basis, I’ve seen how damaging this missing piece is to the health care system.
The new health care law changed reimbursement policies so that hospitals and providers can only receive dividends if patients are improving upon completing treatment or their disease is adequately controlled.
While this sounds like common sense, this goal is not attainable without the patient doing his or her part. No one can force someone else to take a pill, nor can someone force another to diet and exercise. So why should hospitals be penalized for a diabetic patient choosing not to make the proper lifestyle changes? Alternatively, what about a patient with high blood pressure not taking his medicine?
These scenarios are examples of added stress to the health care system in the U.S. The cost of treating these patients as well as the possibly diminished reimbursement is carried over to other patients in the system. Furthermore, patients who do not make lifestyle changes may need additional medication.
If that happens, the added cost from those prescriptions is then dispersed across all insurance holders. This, in turn, increases cost for all of us.
On the flip side, people who do make efforts on their own to stay healthy should be rewarded. This is also not included in the new health insurance system. Why can’t things like gym memberships or other wellness-related activities be insurance deductions or tax deductions?
Owning alpacas, relocating a family pet and using bodybuilder toning oil are all tax-deductible according to MSN Money. When there is no incentive to do what’s right, people may opt out of doing what they know to be best.
We, as a nation, have the highest health care costs as part of our gross domestic product in the world. Health care is not a one-way street where all of the responsibility is on someone else. If these changes were to be implemented, we as a country would be much healthier in the long run.