It has been two years since the President, Barack Obama, approved the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. While a few provisions of this act have already been implemented, there are many others that are yet to see the light of the day.
One of the recent polls conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation has revealed that two thirds of the Americans have not experienced any difference even after a part of the law has already come into effect. While 14 percent of the people said that they did see some amount of change, 21 percent of them said that this act has had a negative impact.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has just revealed their annual report that talks about health care related spending across the country. And this has thrown up a surprise because the amount of spending has seen a northward trend. The health care spending contributed $2.6 trillion to the country’s gross domestic product in the year 2010 which accounts for close to 17.9 percent. However, this rate of growth is still less compared to the rate over the last 50 years.
The Obama Administration did not let go of the opportunity to lap in the appreciation. Nancy-Ann DeParle, the policy’s deputy chief of staff wrote on the official blog that the Affordable Care Act that was brought into effect two years ago has contributed greatly towards keeping the medical costs low and therefore more affordable.
However, when one takes a deeper look at the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, there is very little that this act has done to keep the costs low. One important aspect to note is that not all the stipulations of this act have come into effect. Most people opine that this act is in fact increasing the burden on the taxpayers. As the other stipulations of this act will come into effect, the speed of expenditure will accelerate. The report clearly outlined what has kept the health care spending restrained and it surely is not the Obama approved act. The report states that the recession continues to have its effect on the sponsor of healthcare, providers as well as purchasers. The report went on to say that the consistently high unemployment rates, increase in cost sharing and loss of private coverage has all led people to let go of health insurance coverage and look for other alternatives.
