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Affordable Care Act deserves deeper thought

Candidates’ health care stances should impact college students’ November voting choices

This November, many students will be voting for the first time ever. Among the issues still being debated is the Affordable Care Act. The act, passed in March 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court this summer, has wide implications for college-aged citizens like us.

Under “ObamaCare,” as the ACA is often called, 30 million more Americans will have health insurance by the end of the act’s 10-year implementation period. Coverage expansion will come in the form of federally subsidized insurance, enhanced student health plans, Medicaid expansion and the option for young adults to stay on family insurance until age 26. Virtually every one of these components is relevant to people our age, making it that much more important to make an informed decision this November.

The ACA will require that student health plans include prescription coverage, offer free preventative care and increase the maximum amount of annual benefits for students. For recent graduates, or soon-to-be grads — yes, you, fourth years — this means you can stay on your parents’ health plans for about four more years, and once you are earning entry-level salaries for many jobs, you will most likely be covered by expanded Medicaid eligibility. In short, this act allows for a very real sigh of relief as our worries about health insurance diminish, if not disappear.

The drastic increase in health care coverage and provision will inevitably mean an increase in employment in health care related industries, especially in the form of primary care doctors and nurses.

Carolyn Engelhard, assistant professor and health policy analyst at the University, gave an illuminating lecture last Friday at the Nursing School emphasizing this point precisely. She explained that the ACA is ultimately working toward a health care system based on better quality and more accessible primary care. The bill is equipped, for instance, with additional funding and loan forgiveness for recent medical and nursing school graduates who commit to work for a period of time in under-served communities in the United States.

In addition, the salary of physicians will be less contingent on per-service payment plans — i.e. ordering tests, drug prescription — making health care more efficient financially, more transparent and more accountable. It will also help foster collaboration between care provider components.

The transparency and competition of insurance company online “exchanges” will make purchasing health insurance “as easy as booking an airplane ticket” said Engelhard, who described these exchanges as an interface system similar to sites such as Travelocity, Expedia or Orbitz.

According to federal government statistics, U.S. medical spending almost doubled in the last decade, reaching $2.6 trillion in 2010. The egregious inefficiencies of the current system demand a more systematic distribution of funds. Engelhard herself doesn’t believe the ACA is a panacea to the current patchwork system that constitutes U.S. health care, but she and other public administration professionals recognize the ACA’s pertinence and potential to effect serious change.

So what does Nov. 6 have to do with all this? Does a Romney victory mean the act will be repealed? Engelhard said she doesn’t think so, but “it would certainly be marginalized through Senatorial actions and ‘reconciliation’ measures related to the budgetary aspects of the bill.” Basically, a Republican president doesn’t mean the bill can be revoked — since that would require 60 votes in the Senate — but does mean that it will face serious funding and state-cooperation obstacles. Should Obama win another four-year term the future of the act is still uncertain and may still experience a slowed implementation due to partisanship.

Despite the law’s uncertain future, as a demographic with so much at stake, college students should not settle for a surface-level understanding of such significant legislation and should be ready and willing to vote for individuals who will either support or block the ACA’s implementation.

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