The incapability to resolve recent failures within The Affordable Heathcare Act, better known as Obamacare, has many people wondering … does Obama even care? Not only do the website glitches leave the health care initiative looking like a mess, but weakness within this U.S. law leaves America looking like a mess.
Issues have continuously prolonged enrollment for the Healthcare.gov site since its initial launch on Oct. 1. The ACA is a tool that has become viewed more as a limitation. It has come to be a source of encouragement to the Republican effort in discrediting the health care act altogether.
Between the government shutdown and ongoing technical issues, the commotion between the Democratic and Republican parties has only increased. As recent investigations strive to figure out what went wrong while creating this expensive new healthcare system, many individuals who qualify for Obamacare are still in need of registration.
People wait in frustration while trying to work through the complexities of the still-inept system.
Obama administration officials still cannot say how long it will take to fix the connectivity issues within the website once and for all. However, some blame for the massive mix-up has been placed on Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health and Human Services.
“A day after apologizing and taking responsibility for the problem-plagued Obamacare website, Sebelius got subpoenaed on Thursday by one of the fiercest Republican critics of the administration — House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa of California,” CNN reported last week.
Finding the root of the fault does not seem to have fixed the problem just yet, as website failure is still occurring this week.
This problem seems like a shaky start for Obamacare, but what many people don’t realize is that The ACA was actually signed into law back in 2010. So the question is: Why in 2013 are these technological problems not sorted out? We don’t exactly have the answer.
What we do know is that the law, which aims to make health insurance more affordable, should be available to both public and private insurance plans. It ultimately aims to reduce the cost of healthcare for individuals working in the government and intends to lower the number of uninsured Americans.
The state of California has fully embraced the new mandate for Obamacare.
“With enthusiastic backing from [California] state officials and an estimated seven million uninsured, California is a crucial testing ground for the success of President Obama’s health care law,” The New York Times reported.
Covered California is our state insurance coverage outlet, which provides financial assistance for most Californians to receive high-quality health coverage at a fair price.
As Pepperdine students, we often turn to our Health Center when we need help with sorting out our health insurance options.
“Obamacare does not really affect our doctors here at Pepperdine’s health center,” Joanne Wills, Pepperdine University’s student insurance coordinator said. “All I will say is that we adopted the rules before the deadline, and we are in line with all the rules.” There was no further specification of what these rules include.
Once the current national kinks are smoothed, California is expected to be a leader in the Obamacare act. However, the topic of healthcare is still very delicate.
In asking a Covered California phone representative to speak on behalf of the insurance company’s perspective regarding the newly introduced plan, which goes into effect January 2014, she had “no comment.”
“The uncertainty with the new healthcare (Obamacare) and the likelihood of significant reduction in physician reimbursement means the future of medical care in America is deteriorating,” J. Timothy Harlan, doctor of podiatric medicine, master of science and Fellowship of American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons said.
One stance is that affordable healthcare is beneficial for the majority of Americans, university students included. No one’s coverage can be dropped or denied, even if an individual has a pre-existing medical condition or illness. Essentially, Obamacare covers us all.
Another stance is that the delay in progress goes to show this new policy’s weakness. Some doctors worry that government-mandated insurance will lead to an increased patient volume, resulting in an overall decrease in quality of care for patients.
An anonymous service center representative for the California Department of Public Health also had “no comment” regarding the effects of The ACA in relation to the quality of the medical industry.
Americans, families and students may be torn on their thoughts about the effects of the ACA, but positive or negative outcomes won’t be fully comprehensible until after the law is officially put into effect nationally in the beginning of 2014.
Let’s just hope the registration website is fully functioning by that time, so that those who need Obamacare can attain its benefits.
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Follow Molly Argue on Twitter: @MissMollyArgue
As published in the Nov. 7 issue of the Pepperdine Graphic.
