Health Care And Affordable Care Act - 1714 Words

â€Å"In 2010, Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in order to increase the number of Americans covered by health insurance and decrease the cost of health care† (Supreme Court Opinion, 1). In America, it is a basic necessity to possess health care, logically, Congress would like to make such a necessity more accessible to Americans. Due to a divided government, there are variant views on whether this is necessary and just. Health care benefits all Americans; it is just a matter of if the policy of a required national health care is beneficial. Under the Affordable Care Act, â€Å"the scope of the Medicaid program was expanded and the number of individuals the States must cover was increased†. If states do not abide by†¦show more content†¦16–27. By regulating the State’s commerce, Congress is limiting what States really need to satisfy, their residents. Each state is different, and so are their residents. Simply enforcing a standard cookie-cutter health plan forces States to ignore their previous needs, and â€Å"budgetary challenges; Each state should be able to develop solutions that meet its specific needs† (Robert E. Moffit, Ph. D). Not only do states desire their unique health care for themselves, but for their citizens as well. Although the ACA is arguably for the public good, only a certain class desires such a health care, not every citizen. Yet, if citizens refuse this health care, a â€Å"penalty† is imposed. â€Å"The payment is not so high that there is really no choice but to buy health insurance; the payment is not limited to willful violations, as penalties for unlawful acts often are; and the payment is collected solely by the IRS through the normal means of taxation†. (Supreme Court Opinion) Yet, a payment can be major for those who: do not have the means to pay for it, and disagree with the health care plan. Also, â€Å"the new law adds a number of health care services that insurers must cover and in some cases restricts the ability of insurers and employer self-insured health plans to impose limits on the amount of services patients can consume. This combination will drive up health plan costs and premiums for both individual insurance and employer-group coverage† (Edmund F. Haislmaier). Yet,