PUBLISHED BY EL NUEVO HERALD ON NOVEMBER 14, 2013
When the Social Security and Medicare were created, they emerged with their natural enemies from the beginning who were opposed to its implementation. These included most insurance companies, medium businesses and national chain franchises, private hospitals, and even Republican politicians and thinkers ideologist of all stripes. Now with Obamacare, something similar happens.. Haters always reappear. Broadly speaking, these are the groups who oppose Obamacare, making the proviso, that being many, are not all in each case.
• Health insurance: At first glance it would seem that these businesses would be hardest hit. With Obamacare can not deny coverage to patients with previous stories, which make up almost 50% of the population. They may not charge more to women than men. Obamacare ensures that preventive medicine, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, are free of cost. Also prohibits insurers canceling the policy to their patients, unless fraud is proven. It also forces them to justify to their respective state, if they increase their rates by more than 10%. Finally, prevents insurers limit the benefits that patients may receive in the course of your life, so you can no longer say "your policy benefits were paid in full".
And is that health insurance in just six years, between 2003 and 2009, had their costs increased by 87%. Of course, this led to the uninsured grow exponentially.
Like any law, Obamacare has its exception: health plans purchased before March 23, 2010 need not comply with Obamacare. These plans, known as grandfathered, have the disadvantage that they can deny coverage and limiting benefits if the top of the policy is reached. Have the advantage, if group insurance, which offers greater benefit to patients earning better wages. The new health law prohibits this practice.
All these unlimited spending and regulations that Obamacare requires from insurance companies suggest they will decreases or ceases business. However, it is quite the opposite. Now these companies have more activity and State will compensate them appropriately. They will be an important factor in job creation.
• The medium businesses and national chain franchises: The law requires companies with 50 or more full-time employees must provide health insurance to their workers. These companies mostly prefer to tabulate employees to part-time, to avoid having to comply with the law.
Some agree and some do not. For example, Walmart, the largest employer in the U.S., is doing the opposite, that is, transferring employees from part-time to full-time. Thus the insurance will be cheaper by volume, plus it avoids the high staff turnover and training costs this means.
Others, such as chain Pizza Papa John's, hire stars of football to promote free delivery of two million pizzas, but oppose Obamacare, although one study suggests that an increase of only 4 cents per pizza will be sufficient to insurance cover for their employees.
• Private hospitals: So far private hospitals came charging exorbitant amounts to their patients. And if the patient is one of the 50 million Americans without insurance, payment plans to settle their accounts they were expensive and usually affect your credit history.
In practice it happens that only 12% of the uninsured fully pay their bill. This high risk increases too much the amount of premiums. With Obamacare will change as premiums may not exceed 11% of gross salary. This means that once the insurance market is in full effect, the price of the premium will go down and therefore the hospital coverage is ensured.
• Republican politicians: It is traditional that politicians usually oppose the proposals emanating from the ruling party. And if it is a popular proposal, which involves the entire nation, even more.
Republicans mostly believe that Obamacare will strangle businesses with new costs and force higher unemployment and reduced working hours. They also insist in asking where the funds will coming from for financing.
The truth is that more than 96% of businesses with more than 50 employees already offer health plans to their employees. Obamacare requires that by 2015 companies generating more than $ 250,000 in wages, pay part of the premium for health insurance. Currently, at large firms in the U.S. only 0.2% do not offer health insurance to their employees.
Where are the funds for Obamacare? . According to the Congressional Budget Office in July 2012, $ 741 billion come from cuts in public spending and $ 893 billion in revenue come from extraordinary taxes.
• Ideologists and thinkers: Many individuals oppose Obamacare because they believe it is an attack on free enterprise and democracy. They believe that the state should not force the laws and everything should be left to the free play of supply and demand.
They do not realize that this is precisely Obamacare, an insurance market where natural competition will push prices down, as is already happening. In the 50 states in the nation, Wyoming is the most expensive to purchase health insurance, while Minnesota is the cheapest. The difference is $ 184 monthly. And this is because there are more providers in certain areas, as well as more people with preexisting conditions.
In short, while the U.S. is a developed country with the best technology, is also the worst in obtaining good health results. U.S. spends 12.6% of its GDP on health, the highest percentage among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
We are of the opinion that the market will we adjusted itself over the years and the costs and current technological problems coming with a gigantic project like Obamacare, will be gone soon. As happened with Social Security and Medicare.
BENJAMIN F. DeYURRE
Economist and Journalist
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