Campus will feel impact of ACA repeal
The last article people may want to read is about Obamacare. It seems like a pop song stuck in your head that won’t go away. Naturally, there will be heated debates about the pros and cons of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Regardless of your personal feelings about Obamacare, the effects to college students may be too important to ignore.
Repealing the ACA could mean long waiting periods at emergency rooms. Emergency rooms before the ACA were at capacity because there are no upfront costs. Emergency room visits have traditionally been the backdoor bypassing clinics or primary physicians and continue to rise. Yes, it’s an expensive alternative, but the poor and those that can’t afford co-payments will clog hospital waiting rooms.
Hospitals could potentially write off debt. However, it may be easier for hospitals to pass on that debt to the insured by increasing simple procedures with higher costs. Additionally, bankruptcies and billing defaults will be on the rise for those that need and require health insurance.
Students may have parents or grandparents financially helping them through college. Be prepared to return the favor when the ACA replacement targets older Americans to pay lots more. Future graduates should brace themselves to limited insurance choices.
It took nearly eight years for the ACA to kick in officially. It will take a few months to unravel, creating a mound of complications. The ACA could return after the midterm elections. It will remain a volatile subject mixed with an uncertain future.
Additionally, flu epidemics or accidental slips or falls around campus may pose to be a challenge for those without insurance. Republicans in Congress want to remove student provisions to remain on parents’ insurance policies. Must student loans increase to meet the demand to include health insurance? Universities could see a reduction of future campus activities if liabilities outweigh student costs. Stay tuned for those guidelines.
The cost of medical procedures won’t reduce. Companies rarely reduce receivables unless there’s competition. Insurance companies recently merged or chose to exit the ACA. Tax credits will not help if entry-level workers can’t afford necessities or programs eliminated.
Obamacare wasn’t perfect, and it often felt like a mobile plan that was out of control.
At least the ACA was there to protect millions of Americans connected to a physicians network and created peace of mind. When the final repeal of the ACA takes place, the nightmare for millions of Americans and recent graduates begin.
Daughtry is a political science graduate student who lives in North Carolina.
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