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Americans find themselves at odds when deciding the role of the government in insuring quality healthcare for all citizens. While some feel that government insured healthcare creates a false sense of security, many find themselves with no other means of healthcare if not for the government. In his article published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, John Dunn states, “The administrative state regime of government central planning promoted from the 1930s until today is based on the fatal conceit that Frederick Hayek warned against in The Road to Serfdom. That is the belief that well-meaning government officials could achieve many utopian goals, including ideal access to and quality of medical care at a reasonable cost.” (Dunn) Upon extensive research it can be concluded that government supplied health insurance can result in chaos in the medical community. While quantity can be insured through the millions whom have enrolled in Obamacare, quality can not be insured –or even expected. Although, ideally, Obamacare is the best solution to get the most people medically insured, it proves to not be effective upon execution.

While healthcare reform seems to only be a recent concern, history reveals that the discussion of healthcare has come, and gone many times to no real solution. “Americans have actually been fighting for quality health care since the birth of the nation.” (Gaffney) President Barack Obama proposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare, which was signed into law in 2010. “Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 amendment, it represents the U.S. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.” (Wikipedia) The central goal for government insured healthcare coverage is the opportunity for every citizen to receive the health care they need.

“The ACA was set up to make healthcare more accessible and affordable to more Americans. One way this is done is to employ the use of health insurance subsidies to offer assistance in helping someone get a plan that might not have been able to afford one before. Essentially on a sliding scale is used so that households with the lowest income will be offered the most subsidized assistance. These subsidies are administered in the form of a tax credit during your annual income tax filing process. These tax credits can only be used on the health insurance exchange, and can be used when insurance coverage is purchased, no matter if you owe taxes or not.” (ObamaCare-Enroll)

Although this concept is ideal, in a perfect society, it has been proven time and time again to be exhausting on the taxpayers who can afford their own health insurance. “The non-partisan office estimates that the program will cost the federal government $1.34 trillion over the next decade, an increase of $136 billion from the CBO’s predictions in 2015. In 2016 alone, Obamacare will cost a total of $110 billion.” (Time) Along with exhaustion of tax dollars, those who oppose Obamacare also consider the inevitable decrease of quality in healthcare that will come with state mandated insurance. Doctors are over worked and under paid, pharmaceutical companies switch to cheaper drugs to compensate for loss of revenue, along with reduced access to medical services – it is a chain reaction. "Under Obamacare, power is shifted from patients, doctors, businesses and states to dependency on the federal government. That will erode the doctor-patient relationship, lead to waiting lists for treatment and foster widespread dependency on government-run healthcare....” (Long)

Overall, the high cost to tax payers, and reduction of access to quality healthcare are the foundation of opposition for Obamacare. The shift of responsibility from individuals to the government, and therefore tax payers, is the reason that many find Obamacare an unnecessary burden. Considering the fact that Medicaid, and Medicare are already made accessible to citizens who truly need the aid. It is true that too much help can be no help at all, the excessive resources provided by the government, and funded by tax payers, only creates a false sense of security for those who are enrolled in the healthcare plan. While employment-based-coverage is about 60% of those enrolled, it is the unemployed 40% which strains the means of the tax payer’s dollar. "[W]e must transform our government dependency on defined benefits, which provide a false sense of security, to one of defined contributions, which provide the real security that comes with ownership, control, and flexibility." (Long)

Conclusively, investment in tax dollars towards education, creating jobs, and developing low-income communities would be of greater use to the public then cheap insurance. An investment in giving citizens the tools they need to succeed, like increased availability of small business loans, should be the goal for lawmakers. While temporary assistance can be of great help, long term assistance creates dependency. Although conversations of a repeal for Obamacare have been underway, Obamacare seems to be here to stay as no congress has been able to successfully repeal or replace it.

Works Cited

Dunn, John Dale. "ObamaCare policy myths: warnings from a 1980s HMO executive." Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, vol. 15, no. 4, 2010, p. 110+. Academic OneFile, db28.linccweb.org/login?url= http://go.galegroup.com.db28.linccweb.org/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lincclin_tcc&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA244405402&asid=8d75599b683d9a2767622b93af424054. Accessed 12 Nov. 2017.

“Frequently Asked Questions.” ObamaCare-Enroll, 12 June. 2017, www.obamacare-enroll.org/faq.

Gaffney, Gary S. "150 Years of ObamaCare." Florida Bar Journal, Sept.-Oct. 2016, p. 67. Academic OneFile, db28.linccweb.org/login?url= http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lincclin_tcc&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA495209447&it=r&asid=ccf6bbbef6186d20e81d586c12067e0f. Accessed 12 Nov. 2017.

“Here's How Many Billions Obamacare Will Cost in 2016.” Money, 24 March. 2016, www.owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08.

Long, Howard F. "Why ObamaCare is Wrong for America: How the New Health Care Law Drives Up Costs, Puts Government in Charge of Your Decisions, and Threatens Your Constitutional Rights." Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, vol. 16, no. 3, 2011, p. 93. Academic OneFile, db28.linccweb.org/login?url= http://go.galegroup.com.db28.linccweb.org/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lincclin_tcc&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA267810788&asid=004131b16d77272202cf45eb230bc76a. Accessed 11 Nov. 2017.

“Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” Wikipedia, 2017, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act#Public_opinion.