Private Health Insurance Trends

Abstract

The motivation behind ACA was the quest to achieve universal healthcare via subsidies for private insurances, coupled with individual mandate. During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, the dominant topic concerned healthcare reform. With the narrowing of the race, attention was turned to the two leading candidates: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Whereas Clinton advocated for the individual mandate, Obama advocated for the provision of subsidies. From the perspective of proponents, major motivations included ACA’s capacity to expand coverage, support community health centers, strengthen primary care systems, reward quality of care, provide tax credits, and save the national expenditure on healthcare ‒ while improving living standards via quality care; which would translate into improved workplace productivity. Groups that opposed ACA included small business organizations, Republicans, conservative advocacy groups, and labor unions. Major reasons cited included disruptions to the existing health plans, and higher costs accruing from new insurance standards. The implication for health care practitioners and providers is that political debates surround health care practices and that the need for responsiveness cannot be overemphasized.