How Obamacare has Impacted Middle class American

The key that called for the urgent reform of this system of health delivery is the efficiency and coverage not mentioning the cost incurred by the consumers of the medical care services (Centre for Public Impact). The expenditure per head consuming health care services was far much higher in the United States compared to its peers yet its one of the developed countries of the world. Additionally, the medical coverage of the citizens throughout the country is very poor compared to other nations of its status. One of the reasons most cited for high costs of health services throughout the country is that a significant portion of the country’s population highly relied on the private insurance that is mostly provided by their employers.

This is due to the fact that the Federal Medical program only covered people with disabilities or retired people who are above 65 years of age. Just like the notion of everything is achievable in America when the concept of American Dream was renewed in the years 1940s as is confirmed by the Jing-Mei’s mother in the short story, Two Kind by Amy Tan, the idea of living a comfortable life under the Affordable Care Act became a social norm that surrounded the American society when the idea was conceived in the year 2008 and signed into an Act of parliament on 3rd March 2010. Similar to Jing-Mei’s frustrations when her daughter could not achieve all her mother hoped would be achievable under the American Dream, the present Americans in the middle class income brackets are frustrated by the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

As realized later, the idea of a comfortable life was never realized especially by the middle-class citizens across all the states of the United States. The widespread complaints and rebellions among the citizens against the idea of Affordable Care Act is a clear indication that all is not well. Once the program was officially launched, the consumers of various medical services particularly those that were meant for middle-class income earners were shocked to learn that most of the health coverage plans available were much costly and out of reach by most of the families. Just like the American dream that promised a comfortable life with equality as it foundation and improved standard of life for all as it cornerstone which was never realized as shown by Jing-Mei’s mother, the Affordable Care Act is also another failed public policy due to its inability to meet the expectations of the society.

The negative implications of the Affordable Care Act especially in making the lives of Americans particularly those who do not fall in any of the government’s subsidy plan, has made the whole plan meaningless. Those who are struggling to feed their families and meet their daily expenses are finding the whole plan a joke since instead of the plan easing their daily burdens; it is making it hard for many to lead at least in one way or the other a decent life. The plan has created a socio-economic division since it confers its advantages to some sections of the society and at the same time disadvantaging others. The lower income earners are finding it relatively easier with the current health policy plan mainly because they are subsidized by the governments.

This creates a society where some of its sections lead a comfortable life while others are struggling to the ends meet and will continue to widen the gap between the rich and the poor if the policy is not revised. This means that some of the society members are becoming poorer with the current healthcare policy which is against the initial intentions of the plan which is socially unjust and against the American Dream of equal opportunities of living a better life. The issue of a society that is divided into two where we have those with plenty on one hand and those with very little on the other is also confirmed in the short story, The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara where the society is sharply divided between the haves and have not as seen between the New York’s elite class that live a comfortable life and their neighbors who live in slums (Bambara 648).

Borrowing from this short story, it can be concluded that just like the parents have a responsibility to ensure that their children grow and live a better life by fulfilling their parental roles, the government has a responsibility to ensure that all the citizens live a better life that based on the equality in terms of enjoying the available opportunities. Just like the lottery in the short story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is designed in such a manner that all the community can have the same fate, the ACA in its formulation was intended to offer equal chances to all the people as far as affordability and access to medical care services is concerned which does not happen. Since most of the majority cannot afford the available health policy plans, they are forced to opt out of the program or for medical services since they cannot afford the insurance plan that fit their income brackets.

As Luhby notes, some people cannot afford to visit their doctors for medication since they have not met their deductibles and as such they stay back at home to heal naturally which sometimes take too long. “Lee, who is in retail sales, didn't go to the doctor when he had a cough in March. He didn't want to pay the full price since he hadn't met his deductible. The cough lasted a month”. The government’s subsidies that are entrenched in the plan makes its easy for them to afford the medical coverage policy which they could otherwise not afforded. "Having that subsidy. has allowed us to buy a better plan that we could not otherwise afford, said Horbal, a Newtown, Pennsylvania resident who owns LifeInsuranceAdvisors.