Policy Making
Eric Spilman
Policy-making in the Federal System
Pol201: American National Government
February 4, 2013
The United States Government plays a big role in the policies or programs that the citizens can like or dislike but really don’t have the overall say. When it comes to the policies that get put into place not everyone is going to be happy with it. Sure, some policies will benefit some people more than others and some can just plain benefit the ones who run the country. Obamacare has some history behind the issues, benefits, and policies that will be placed on Americans to abide by. We will take a look at the pros and cons of such a policy and weigh in on how it is good or bad depending on how it affects you and your family. Obamacare is an overall Medicaid expansion that is supposed to be one of the biggest milestones within healthcare reform by insuring up to 21 million Americans over the next decade. This expansion to Medicaid is supposed to provide the nation’s poorest with health coverage. “The law previously required states to cover their poorest or lose federal funding to Medicaid (federal funding covers 90-100% of the costs) until the supreme court ruling on ObamaCare” (Obamacare, n.d.). The history behind this ended up with the fact the each state has the opportunity to decide whether they want to opt out of allowing the expansion of this coverage to their states poorest with no penalty to go with it. This ruling actually hurts the Obamacare expansion as it forces the tax payers to end up paying for the states that choose to opt out and not help their poorest. Obamacare is supposed to start and go into effect within the next year. “Nearly ONE HALF of uninsured Americans were going to get their health Insurance under ObamaCare Medicaid reform by expanding coverage to the nation’s poorest starting in 2014. Now states can opt out without losing federal funding” (Obamacare, n.d.). Overall, what is Medicaid? Many people do not fully know or
Policy-making in the Federal System
Pol201: American National Government
February 4, 2013
The United States Government plays a big role in the policies or programs that the citizens can like or dislike but really don’t have the overall say. When it comes to the policies that get put into place not everyone is going to be happy with it. Sure, some policies will benefit some people more than others and some can just plain benefit the ones who run the country. Obamacare has some history behind the issues, benefits, and policies that will be placed on Americans to abide by. We will take a look at the pros and cons of such a policy and weigh in on how it is good or bad depending on how it affects you and your family. Obamacare is an overall Medicaid expansion that is supposed to be one of the biggest milestones within healthcare reform by insuring up to 21 million Americans over the next decade. This expansion to Medicaid is supposed to provide the nation’s poorest with health coverage. “The law previously required states to cover their poorest or lose federal funding to Medicaid (federal funding covers 90-100% of the costs) until the supreme court ruling on ObamaCare” (Obamacare, n.d.). The history behind this ended up with the fact the each state has the opportunity to decide whether they want to opt out of allowing the expansion of this coverage to their states poorest with no penalty to go with it. This ruling actually hurts the Obamacare expansion as it forces the tax payers to end up paying for the states that choose to opt out and not help their poorest. Obamacare is supposed to start and go into effect within the next year. “Nearly ONE HALF of uninsured Americans were going to get their health Insurance under ObamaCare Medicaid reform by expanding coverage to the nation’s poorest starting in 2014. Now states can opt out without losing federal funding” (Obamacare, n.d.). Overall, what is Medicaid? Many people do not fully know or
References: Huffman, J. (2012). Defining ideas. Obamacare vs. Federalism, Retrieved from http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/119436 Obamacare. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacares-medicaid- expansion.php.