Affordable Care Act offers necessary reform

By: Neda Ghomeshi/ Opinion Editor

The U.S. has a population of 310 million and yet more than 60 million do not carry health insurance.  The disparity between the overall population and the number of uninsured is an issue that not only needs to be addressed, but dramatically reduced.

A plausible solution to the currently inefficient health care scene within the U.S. is the implementation and enforcement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Two years ago, President Barack Obama signed into law the most comprehensive reform of American health care since Medicare, enacted into law by President Johnson in 1965.

Starting today and going on until Wednesday, March 28, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

In essence,  the Supreme Court will look at the constitutionality of the individual-mandate provision of the law, which requires all Americans to obtain health insurance that conforms to certain federal standards.

Under the Affordable Care Act, not only will every American be insured, but, according to ABC News, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that the law would yield around $200 billion in deficit reduction over the next decade.

To better understand the dynamics of the poorly structured health care system in the U.S., it is essential to compare America’s health care  to those of other developed nations.

America pays more for health care than any other nation in the world; yet, its life expectancy rate is ranked 29th in the world.

Right now, health care costs in the U.S. take up about one fifth of the economy — that means that almost one out of every five dollars spent in America is spent on health care.

According to Fareed Zakaria, editor at “Time Magazine” and host of CNN’s Global Public Square, “By 2050, if things don’t change, [health care costs] could consume almost 2/5 [of the economy].”

No other nation spends more than 12 percent of its total economy on health care — the U.S. spends over 17 percent.

Even though the U.S. spends more money on health care, it does worse than most other countries on almost every measure of health outcomes, such as life expectancy and infant mortality.

The most problematic issue regarding health care in America is the unsustainably high cost for services, treatments and medications.

The International Federation of Health Plans released a report comparing the prices in various countries  for 23 medical services. The U.S. had the highest costs in 22 of the 23 cases. In France, an MRI costs only $281. In the U.S., an MRI costs over $1,000.

The medical industry abuses its patients in the U.S., simply because they are capable of doing so. With necessary reforms to the fragmented health care, patients and the overall system will not be taken advantage of.

Annual premiums for a family health plan rose 9 percent last year, topping $15,000 for the first time ever, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust.

These are issues that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to address.

“A major driver in the increasing cost of premiums is the fact that health care costs are increasing rapidly.  And that was a lot of what the Affordable Care Act is designed to do — to slow the increases in those costs,” said Cecilia Rouse, Princeton University economics and public affairs professor and Obama campaign surrogate.

America’s inefficient health care system is reaching the point of dysfunction, particularly as the population ages.

Americans spend too much money on health care, which cannot be sustained for too long.

Reform is necessary. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is crucial.