Business Finance Management Week 3 Assignment Historical Per

business Finance Management Week 3 Assignmenthistorical Perspective

Business Finance Management Week 3 Assignment Historical Perspective: The Affordable Care Act; Barack Obama vs Donald Trump Administrations Gabrielle McNeely Professor Timothy Smith Strayer University PAD /21/ Historical Perspective: The Affordable Care Act; Barack Obama vs Donald Trump Administrations The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), is a health insurance reform policy signed into law by President Obama on March 23rd, 2010 (Vankar, 1). Passed by the 111th Congress, ACA was America's most expansive regulatory overhaul of health insurance coverage since the adoption of Medicare and Medicaid. Particularly, the new law ushered in reforms by expanding access to health coverage by making it more affordable and protecting consumers from exploitative health insurance companies (Vankar, 1).

Previously, health insurance firms would deny coverage to people with chronic conditions such as heart disease, asthma, etc., or limit the compensation they would offer those patients. Notably, before the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, more than 50 million Americans lacked health insurance, one of the lowest performances among developed nations in health coverage (Vankar, 1). The policy aimed to increase universal health coverage and improve health insurance quality, affordability, and fairness. Despite this policy's anticipated benefits, the ACA became one of America's most contested public health policies. This analysis focuses on the Affordable Care Act during President Obama's and Donald Trump's eras.

While President Obama championed the passage and full adoption of the ACA, President Trump sought to repeal the bill and reverse most of the gains made in health insurance coverage. Historical Perspective of the ACA: Social, Economic, and Political Environments during President Obama's Era The Affordable Care Act came at the right time, socially, economically, and politically, since the transformation of the country's health coverage system was long overdue. Socially, Americans had been subjected to discrimination in accessing health coverage, where people with 3 chronic health conditions would not access coverage or would have the amounts of compensation capped at a particular figure (Gusmano, 3). Such a discriminative policy led to the creation of social classes, where the rich would afford expensive health coverage while those with no income locked out of such programs (Campbell and Shore-Sheppard, 4).

Therefore, such a move had divided society between the rich and the poor, where the rich would afford health insurance. Economically, during the passage of the ACA, the US economy was barely recovering from the 2008 global financial crisis. Although the financial crisis ended in June 2009, the US economy had barely recovered from the recession by March 2010, when the ACA was passed. Notably, the US economy averaged an annual growth of 2 percent in the first four years after the recession. In addition, 5.05 million Americans lost jobs in 2009, during President Obama's first year in office (Jones, 5). The loss of jobs affected health insurance coverage since those affected could no longer pay insurance premiums and hence lost their coverage. Similarly, in 2010, the country experienced one of the highest unemployment rates at 9.6 percent (Jones, 5). Based on the country's tough economic situation, the passage of the ACA in 2010 offered a major relief to citizens by reducing the overall cost of health insurance. Therefore, such a policy came at the right time.

Politically, the ACA policy, also known as Obamacare, was highly anticipated since Obama promised to insure the uninsured during the campaign period. However, the nation was divided politically on the matter of ACA. In 2010, only 46 percent of the US adult population supported ACA. While Democrats favored the bill, Republicans opposed it. 4 Historical Perspective of the ACA: Social, Economic, and Political Environments during President Trump's Era Since the bill's passage in 2010, Republicans have strived to repeal it and reverse most of the gains achieved. Republican's primary argument is that the bill would distort America's healthcare system by making private insurance more expensive and also undermine Medicare for seniors. Trump's victory in the 2016 elections renewed Republican's efforts to repeal the ACA law. According to Gusmano et al. (3), President Trump's health policy agenda revolved around repealing ACA, which he termed a 'disaster.' Socially, the ACA, as of 2016, had narrowed down the social gap in terms of access to healthcare. By 2016, the number of uninsured Americans had dropped to 26.7 million from 46.5 million in 2010 (Tolbert and Drake, 6). As a result, ACA reduced the social gap between the poor and the rich regarding the ability to afford health coverage.

Economically, President Trump's reign, before the COVID-19 pandemic, enjoyed better economic prospects than Obama's tenure in 2010, when the economy was recovering from the 2008 financial crisis. As a result, the people were better placed to afford healthcare coverage. As highlighted, less than 27 million Americans did not have health insurance cover in 2016, compared to over 46 million in 2010 (Tolbert and Drake, 6). However, despite the positive progress in regard to health insurance as a result of the ACA, Trump's administration sought to abolish it. The prevailing political situation regarding ACA during Trump's reign was not different from Obama's. The public's support for ACA barely changed during the two reigns, with 45 percent of US adults supporting the policy, compared to 46 percent in 2010. Politically, President Trump sought to energize his political base by repealing the ACA. For instance, in 2017, he 5 passed the Tax Cuts and the Jobs Act (TCJA), which eliminated ACA's shared responsibility (Neuman et al., 7). In conclusion, the Obama and Trump administrations had diverse views regarding the ACA. While Obama's administration pioneered and passed the ACA in 2010, his successor, President Trump, spent much of his time in 2016 trying to reverse the ACA law. The political support and opposition to ACA have not changed over the years, with the majority of Democrats supporting the ACA law while Republicans strive to abolish it. 6 Source List 1. Vankar, Preeti. 2023. Affordable Care Act: Statistics and facts. Statista. 2. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2022. About the Affordable Care Act. 3. Gusmano, Michael, K. et al. 2020. Trump v. the ACA. Health Economics and Law, pp.. 4. Campbell Louise Andrea and Shore-Sheppard Lara. The social, political, and economic effects of the Affordable Care Act: Introduction to the issue. The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 6(2), 1-40. Jones, Chuck. 2020. Trump's job losses will exceed the Great Recession. Forbes. great-recessions/?sh=43b3dd9f7d. Tolbert Jennifer and Drake Patrick. 2023. Key facts about the uninsured population. KFF. 7. Neuman Tricia. et al. 2020. President Trump's record on healthcare. KFF.

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The evolution of healthcare policies in the United States has significantly shaped the nation's social, economic, and political landscape. Central to recent history is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010 under President Barack Obama's administration. The ACA marked the most substantial overhaul of health insurance regulation since the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid (Vankar, 2023). Its primary objectives were to expand healthcare access, make coverage more affordable, and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. The implementation of the ACA fundamentally transformed the American healthcare system, reducing the number of uninsured Americans and attempting to bridge the social disparities in healthcare access.

Historical Context of the ACA during President Obama's Era

When President Obama signed the ACA into law in March 2010, the United States was grappling with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The economy was only beginning to recover, with unemployment rates high and millions losing jobs, which directly impacted insurance coverage. In 2009, approximately 5.05 million Americans lost jobs, and the unemployment rate in 2010 reached 9.6%, exacerbating the challenge of providing affordable healthcare (Jones, 2020). Socially, the healthcare system was marked by discriminatory practices where individuals with pre-existing conditions faced barriers in obtaining coverage, and socio-economic divides further deepened the accessibility gap between the wealthy and the impoverished (Gusmano et al., 2020).

The political climate during Obama's presidency was heavily divided on healthcare reform. While initially supported by a minority of the adult population (around 46%), the ACA gained bipartisan debate. Democrats largely championed the law, viewing it as essential for social justice and health equity, whereas Republicans opposed it, criticizing it for potential economic disruptions and increased government intervention (Campbell & Shore-Sheppard, 2022). Despite these divisions, the ACA represented a critical step toward universal health coverage, aiming to reduce the social disparities and improve overall health outcomes.

Transition and Challenges during the Trump Era

Following Obama's presidency, Donald Trump’s administration significantly aimed to reverse the gains made by the ACA. Trump criticized the law, calling it a disaster, and made repealing it a core element of his healthcare policy agenda (Gusmano et al., 2020). Supporters argued that the ACA distorted the healthcare market by increasing premiums and threatening Medicare’s stability for seniors (Neuman et al., 2020). During Trump’s tenure, efforts to dismantle the ACA persisted despite substantial public support for expanding coverage; in 2016, less than 27 million Americans lacked insurance, a stark decline from over 46 million in 2010 (Tolbert & Drake, 2023).

Economically, the Trump era had enjoyed better conditions than during the recession recovery period, with more employment and financial stability, thereby improving the ability of Americans to afford health insurance. Politically, the administration sought to rally support among conservatives by passing tax reforms like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which effectively eliminated the individual mandate penalty under the ACA (Neuman et al., 2020). Public opinion regarding the ACA remained relatively stagnant, with support staying around 45-46%, reflecting deep political and ideological divides on healthcare reform (Gusmano et al., 2020).

Conclusion

Overall, the history of the ACA across the Obama and Trump administrations exemplifies the ongoing ideological conflict surrounding healthcare in the United States. While the law sought to address longstanding disparities and expand access, political opposition has relentlessly sought its abolition or reduction. The differences highlight broader themes of social justice, economic policy, and political ideology, illustrating the complex dynamics of healthcare reform. Moving forward, understanding these historical perspectives is essential to evaluating potential future reforms aimed at achieving sustainable, equitable, and affordable healthcare for all Americans.

References

• Gusmano, M., K. et al. (2020). Trump v. the ACA. Health Economics and Law.
• Jones, C. (2020). Trump's job losses will exceed the Great Recession. Forbes.
• Tolbert, J., & Drake, P. (2023). Key facts about the uninsured population. KFF.
• Neuman, T., et al. (2020). President Trump's record on healthcare. KFF.
• Vankar, P. (2023). Affordable Care Act: Statistics and facts. Statista.
• US Department of Health and Human Services. (2022). About the Affordable Care Act.
• Campbell, L. A., & Shore-Sheppard, L. (2022). The social, political, and economic effects of the Affordable Care Act. The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.
• Gusmano, M., et al. (2020). Trump v. the ACA. Health Economics and Law.
• Jones, C. (2020). Trump's job losses will exceed the Great Recession. Forbes.
• Tolbert, J., & Drake, P. (2023). Key facts about the uninsured population. KFF.