Economic Opportunity of Healthcare Reform
The Economic Opportunity of Health Care Reform
National University
ECO 203 – Principals of Microeconomics
As the timeline unfolds for Health Care Reform (HCR), it has proven to be a rough road towards change. According to the Internal Revenue Service, HCR was initiated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on March 23, 2010 (IRS, 2010). Since that time, a number of initiatives, regulations, and important legal changes have begun to change the way health care will be implemented for the citizens of the United States moving forward. For some of us these changes have been long awaited, and for others it will create an otherwise unexpected and unwelcome expense. The most talked about initiative which is expected to be effective January 2014, is the Health Care Tax Credit. This paper will review the building need for HCR and the purpose for the Health Care Tax Credit. Also acknowledged are the arguments opposed to the implementation approach, and the potential economic benefits of the subsidy.
“Choice is the heart of economics,” according to the Economics book by Krugman and Wells, and includes an opportunity cost or a trade-off for a good or service (2012, Ch. 1). In translation, payment or sacrifice is required in order to get something in return. In today’s normal free market scenario, the opportunity cost for health care to many U.S. citizens is simply unaffordable. According to an article by Jeffrey Young, the cost of a family insurance plan in 2011 had increased by 113% since 2001 (2011). The same article indicates the average annual premium cost for a family plan was $13,704 not including the co-pays for visits or prescriptions. For many hard working families today, this would be more than 20% of their income which could otherwise be used for food, transportation and clothing. The situation implies that a completely free market system of providing healthcare is simply not practical if so many hard working families are
National University
ECO 203 – Principals of Microeconomics
As the timeline unfolds for Health Care Reform (HCR), it has proven to be a rough road towards change. According to the Internal Revenue Service, HCR was initiated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on March 23, 2010 (IRS, 2010). Since that time, a number of initiatives, regulations, and important legal changes have begun to change the way health care will be implemented for the citizens of the United States moving forward. For some of us these changes have been long awaited, and for others it will create an otherwise unexpected and unwelcome expense. The most talked about initiative which is expected to be effective January 2014, is the Health Care Tax Credit. This paper will review the building need for HCR and the purpose for the Health Care Tax Credit. Also acknowledged are the arguments opposed to the implementation approach, and the potential economic benefits of the subsidy.
“Choice is the heart of economics,” according to the Economics book by Krugman and Wells, and includes an opportunity cost or a trade-off for a good or service (2012, Ch. 1). In translation, payment or sacrifice is required in order to get something in return. In today’s normal free market scenario, the opportunity cost for health care to many U.S. citizens is simply unaffordable. According to an article by Jeffrey Young, the cost of a family insurance plan in 2011 had increased by 113% since 2001 (2011). The same article indicates the average annual premium cost for a family plan was $13,704 not including the co-pays for visits or prescriptions. For many hard working families today, this would be more than 20% of their income which could otherwise be used for food, transportation and clothing. The situation implies that a completely free market system of providing healthcare is simply not practical if so many hard working families are
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