Question

Share an example of a healthcare policy that you suspect originated more out of an emotional outcry from the population than a true evidence-based decision-making process. Give some basic background on how the policy came into being, and share your opinion on if it was based on the best data available at the time. What do you think could have been done differently?

Answer 1

An example of healthcare policy that was created more from emotion than am evidence-based decision-making process would be the Affordable Care Act. American’s did need a program like this to make healthcare more affordable but premiums and cost-sharing are still too high for many Americans.The problem of affordability is fundamentally a problem of cost. Health care costs a great deal. While the idea of having more affordable healthcare is great for Americans, the ACA still needs a great deal of work. Yes prices for insurance are a lot lower for individuals, it is still very expensive and many people still have a lot of out of pocket costs. Health insurance puts health care consumers into a common pool and moves money from those who are healthy at any given time to those who are not. ACA has put limits on out of pocket spending, but many can barely afford the deductibles and copayments. Affordability remains a problem. Many young and healthy individuals with incomes too high for premium tax credit eligibility saw their premiums rise sharply as the ACA’s market reforms became effective. So while this program is aimed at helping those in a certain income level those that are healthy or make too much to opt into it are being punished.