Health Reform and Benefit Mandates
Location
Harkins 301
Event Website
http://www.providence.edu/hpm/Pages/Conference.aspx
Start Date
23-3-2013 9:30 AM
End Date
23-3-2013 10:45 AM
Description
The individual mandate is perhaps the most contested and least popular provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). The mandate, which requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, was put in the ACA as a means to increase the number of Americans with access to health care insurance. A poll taken by Gallup in February 2012 revealed that 72% of Americans view the individual mandate as unconstitutional (Gallup poll, 2012). This extreme opposition towards the mandate intrigued me and I was interested in learning where this negativity was stemming from and why it seemed to be such a taboo, especially in the Republican circles. As I began to research the origin of the individual mandate, I discovered that the current Republicans opposition towards the mandate is, in fact, misguided.
In my paper I conducted a careful examination of the individual mandate’s history revealing that is was originally a conservative idea and encompasses many conservative values, specifically the value of individual responsibility. In fact, the individual mandate was both introduced in various health care legislation and endorsed by republican politicians throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. This research reveals that republican opposition towards the individual mandate has evolved only recently in the light of the passing of the ACA. What was once, accepted by many democrats and republicans as a logical way to expand access is now seen as overstepping individual freedom and rights. In my paper, I present the recent critics’ arguments against the mandate and explain why they are so prominent at this time. In addition to this, I propose solutions such as, changing the language associated with the mandate and creating a political environment that allows for bipartisanship, which will turn this opposition into acceptance of and support for the mandate.
Included in
The Individual Mandate: The Ultimate Conservative Idea
Harkins 301
The individual mandate is perhaps the most contested and least popular provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). The mandate, which requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, was put in the ACA as a means to increase the number of Americans with access to health care insurance. A poll taken by Gallup in February 2012 revealed that 72% of Americans view the individual mandate as unconstitutional (Gallup poll, 2012). This extreme opposition towards the mandate intrigued me and I was interested in learning where this negativity was stemming from and why it seemed to be such a taboo, especially in the Republican circles. As I began to research the origin of the individual mandate, I discovered that the current Republicans opposition towards the mandate is, in fact, misguided.
In my paper I conducted a careful examination of the individual mandate’s history revealing that is was originally a conservative idea and encompasses many conservative values, specifically the value of individual responsibility. In fact, the individual mandate was both introduced in various health care legislation and endorsed by republican politicians throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. This research reveals that republican opposition towards the individual mandate has evolved only recently in the light of the passing of the ACA. What was once, accepted by many democrats and republicans as a logical way to expand access is now seen as overstepping individual freedom and rights. In my paper, I present the recent critics’ arguments against the mandate and explain why they are so prominent at this time. In addition to this, I propose solutions such as, changing the language associated with the mandate and creating a political environment that allows for bipartisanship, which will turn this opposition into acceptance of and support for the mandate.
https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/auchs/2013/panela2/2
