Subtitle B: Immediate Actions to Preserve and Expand Coverage (Michelle, 2011)
SEC. 1101: IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO INSURANCE FOR UNINSURED INDIVIDUALS WITH A PREEXISTING CONDITION (Michelle, 2011)
Effective Date
The Act was established on 1st January 2014. Exactly 90 days after the enactment of the Act, the Secretary was to establish a temporary insurance measure to cover eligible individuals.
Funding Source
The treasury funds the act. The treasury released $5,000,000,000 to cater for the claims of individuals who are in a high-risk pool. The funds are availed without any fiscal year limitation. The secretary is obliged to ensure that there is no deficit in funding this Act (Murdock, 2012). In the case of a deficit, the secretary must make the necessary adjustments to ensure the funds are available.
Eligibility
The Act stipulates that to be eligible for the contract; an entity must be a state or a nonprofit organization; the entity must apply for membership from the Secretary; agree to use the funds provided to provide efficient insurance services. For an individual to be deemed eligible he or she must be a legitimate citizen of the United States; he or she must not be covered by any other insurance policy (Murdock, 2012). The person must also prove that he has a preexisting medical condition.
History
This Act was enacted after a long debate amongst American congressmen. The Obamacare bill generated heated debates and divided Americans right in the middle. However, after wide consultations, the democrats defeated the republicans and passed the Obamacare bill. The Senate approved the bill on 24th December 2009. President Obama then signed it on March 23rd, 2010. The Supreme Court upheld the Act on 28th June 2012 (Murdock, 2012).
Results
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Murdock, 2012) is aimed at ensuring that all Americans can access quality healthcare at affordable prices. The act was transformational. Gone are the days when only the rich would access quality healthcare. Moreover, the Act is also aimed at regulating the money spent in developing the health sector.
Discussion
Obamacare was a noble idea that came into effect in January 2014. Despite the challenges, it went through before being approved by the courts, the senate, and the House of Representatives the bill sailed through and became part of American law (Murdock, 2012).
Conclusions
When Obamacare was mentioned, most people thought of it as a plan that would be too expensive for the American budget. However, the bill was passed into law and called the PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (Murdock, 2012). The act has very many subsections. However, I was impressed by SEC. 1101 guarantees uninsured individuals who have medical conditions immediate access to insurance.
Recommendation
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Murdock, 2012) provides affordable healthcare for everyone. The subsection that deals with insurance coverage are equally beneficial for average Americans. However, the constitutionality of the Act has been brought to question. I recommend that some of the provisions of the Act be revised or scraped off altogether (Michelle, 2011). I realized that the bill has compelled private citizens and their businesses to pay money to insurance companies that are business entities. The business owners maintain that it is unreasonable for them to take their money and give it directly to fellow citizens.
References
Michelle, A (2011) Constitutional challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, retrieved from http://www.nixonpeabody.com
Murdock, K. (2012) Affordable Care Act: Obamacare. Munich: GRIN Verlag