Should There Be Penalties For Not Having Health Insurance?
Introduction
In this paper, I aim to concisely argue that those who do not acquire health insurance must not be penalized.
The Patient Protectorate and Affordable Care Act otherwise known as the Obamacare, or the ACA can be subtly described as the largest overhaul of the US healthcare system since the 1960's. However, it has remained under immense controversy since then. The act was mainly aimed at extending effective insurance coverage, to primarily the American population who lacked it. The act more specifically encompassed those not covered by their employers and the US health programmes for the elderly and the poor.
The act requires Americans to purchase insurance or pay the penalty at tax fee, except for those who have qualified for a limited number of exemptions. Additionally, the fees owed by the individuals, further extended to their spouse and made them equally liable.
The perks of having health insurance penalty however controversial, are beneficial in several ways.
• Health insurance like the Obamacare enables children to stay under the healthcare of their parents until they are 26 years of age.
• Everybody under healthcare insurance is at least entitled insurance for a pre-existing medical condition
• It fosters gender equality as companies no longer charge women more than men.
• The penalty could stop medical bankruptcies
• Right to healthcare is a necessary foundation of a just society
However, these benefits cannot be used as a sound ground for rendering penalties to those who do not have the health insurance cover. Individuals who do not have health insurance should not be penalized for the following reasons.
• Not all Americans can afford the health insurance fee.
• Forcing people with health insurance could raise taxes
• Many Americans do not believe there should be a right to healthcare
• People should be allowed to pay for their healthcare, not being forced to have it by the government.
• The founding documents of the US do not support forcing people to have healthcare insurance.
• Health insurance has undeniable flaws.
• Eliminating the penalty would change the individual market for the better.
Body
Why there should be no penalties for not Having Health Insurance
• Penalties deprive poor Americans the chance to keep their own hard earned money.
o Although the fee may not be a problem for the majority of the working population, the poor may find it hard coping with the fee. Putting a penalty on such individuals is therefore unjustified
o Most individuals would agree that purchasing highly regulated and overpriced health insurance is not the right way to spend hard earned money. The IRS reports that in 2015, over 6.2 million Americans opted to pay Obama's uninsured penalty and over 12 million individuals were exempted from it. There were also citizens who refused (without consequence) to tell IRS if they had insurance coverage or not.
o Most Americans would agree that after all, they can manage their hard earned money better than the government
o Withdrawing penalties on the individual mandate would put back lots of money on individuals’ and families’ pockets if they decide that they do not need the type of health insurance required by the government
• Forcing people with health insurance could raise taxes
o The cost of covering health insurance in most countries where health insurance is a must is paid through higher taxes.
o According to Paul Gregory, forcing people to buy health insurance would make payroll rise by double the amount.
• Most Americans do not believe that there should be a right to healthcare.
o A poll conducted in 2013 by Gallup indicates that more than half of American (56%) do not believe that the federal government has a responsibility of ensuring that all Americans have health coverage.
o Another report released by Gallup in 2012 showed that more than half of Americans (54%) opposed the idea of a universal health coverage financed by the federal government.
• People should be allowed to pay for their healthcare, not being forced to have it by the government.
o Forcing people to pay penalties for health insurance is not justified. Taking an Insurance cover should be a person’s choice rather than being forced to have it
o Penalties force hard-working individuals to pay taxes and subsidize healthcare for the unemployed.
• The founding documents of the US do not support forcing people to have healthcare insurance.
o The Declaration of Independence does not provide for the right to health care. The purpose of the constitution of the United States as outlined in the Preamble is to promote the general healthcare not to enforce it.
o The Bill of rights is very clear on some personal freedoms that cannot be infringed by the government. Among these fundamental freedoms is the right to life and liberty. According to Ron Paul, a Congressman, every individual has the freedom to keep what they earn in a free country.
• Health insurance has flaws
o A ruling by the Supreme Court in 2012 found ACA constitutional but highlighted major flaws stating that the administration of government health programme Medicaid had to be changed by the states.
o Since only a few Americans have welcomed the health Insurance cover, insurance companies are backing out of participating in the cover. A good example is the Obamacare.
Benefits of Having Health Insurance Penalty
• Right to healthcare could help save lives
o Research shows that a lack of healthcare insurance has played a major role in many deaths witnessed every year.
o Research also shows that people with health insurance cover live longer than those without.
• A right to healthcare improves public health.
o The Health Insurance Penalty would give people a right to healthcare. Evidence suggests that this would lead to better access to necessary healthcare and improved population health more so for poor people.
o A 2008 peer-reviewed study showed that majority of uninsured working Americans had chronic conditions like the heart disease and their lack of insurance was behind their less access to care, early disability, and even death
• The penalty could stop medical bankruptcies
o Research shows that approximately 62 percent of all US bankruptcies were linked to the medical expenses
o Forcing all US citizens to purchase health insurance would help eliminate the bankruptcies.
• Right to healthcare is a necessary foundation of a just society
o In the United States, we already have public law enforcement, public road maintenance and other law enforced services aimed at promoting a just society. Adding healthcare insurance to the list would only be a routine way of ensuring a just society.
o According to N. Daniels, health care sustains people and ensure that they remain active in the in the political, social and economic life of the society.
Conclusion
• Having penalties for not having health insurance has a few benefits. Some of these include saving lives, improving public health, stopping medical bankruptcies and establishing a just society. However, these benefits are not enough for penalizing those unable to afford the cover or just have a better use for their hard earned money.
Annotated Bibliography
1. Frean, Molly, Jonathan Gruber, and Benjamin D. Sommers. "Premium subsidies, the mandate, and Medicaid expansion: Coverage effects of the Affordable Care Act." Journal of Health Economics 53 (2017): 72-86.
I plan to use this bibliography to show that using premium subsidies for private coverage, an individual mandate, and Medicaid expansion, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has indeed increased insurance coverage.
2. Sommers, Benjamin D., Munira Z. Gunja, Kenneth Finegold, and Thomas Musco. "Changes in self-reported insurance coverage, access to care, and health under the Affordable Care Act." Jama 314, no. 4 (2015): 366-374.
This bibliography will be used to analyze national changes in self-reported coverage, health care access and health in the first two enrollment period of the ACA. It will also be used to assess the disparities between low-income adults in states that expanded Medicaid and the ones that did not.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) completed its second open enrollment period in February 2015.
3. Heintzman, John, Steffani R. Bailey, Jennifer DeVoe, Stuart Cowburn, Tanya Kapka, Truc-Vi Duong, and Miguel Marino. "In low-income Latino patients, post-Affordable Care Act Insurance disparities may be reduced even more than broader national estimates: evidence from Oregon." Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 4, no. 3 (2017): 329-336.
The bibliography will be used in analyzing early survey evidence of a disparity reduction in the coverage of insurance between the non-Hispanic Whites and Latinos post-ACA. It will also analyze the elimination of insurance policies among the low-income patients to Oregon CHCs who were previously uninsured.
4. Chen, Jie, Arturo Vargas-Bustamante, Karoline Mortensen, and Alexander N. Ortega. "Racial and ethnic disparities in health care access and utilization under the Affordable Care Act." Medical care 54, no. 2 (2016): 140.
This bibliography will be used to examine racial and ethnic disparities that exist in in the access for healthcare and utilization after the implementation of ACA health insurance in 2014.From the bibliography, we will be able to determine whether the access to healthcare and insurance coverage contributes to disparities regarding race and ethnic background prior the ACA implementation.
5. Wherry, Laura R., and Sarah Miller. "Early coverage, access, utilization, and health effects associated with the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansions: a quasi-experimental study." Annals of internal medicine 164, no. 12 (2016): 795-803.
The bibliography will be used to examine the implementation of the Patient Protectorate and Affordable Care Act. It will also help in analyzing the impact of the act in the medical expansion for low-income adults. In 2014, only 26 states and the District of Columbia chose to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansions for low-income adults. The bibliography will also help in analyzing the impacts of the ACA Medicaid expansion regarding insurance coverage, utilization of certain types of healthcare, and the rate of diagnosis of chronic health conditions for adults with low income.