The current healthcare system over burdens the economy and is far too costly in comparison to the health benefits it delivers. The United States spends about 50 percent more on healthcare than any other developed country (as a fraction of our total national economy) and we get less for it on what matters. The human capital required to obtain these services leaves many Americans doing without or not receiving the medical treatment required.
The Affordable Care Act may be the most controversial legislation in the modern era. It is marketed as healthcare expansion to about thirty million more Americans. The ACA is also designed to do away with some of the unfair elements of the current …show more content…
There is nothing that suggests that the upper class will actually work less, invest less, or do anything which reduces their “real contribution” to the economy.
The third major tax provision is a “free rider penalty” of $2000 to $3000 (per employee) on medium and large businesses that fail to provide workers with affordable coverage, forcing those workers to get subsidized insurance via the new insurance exchanges. (Brodwin) This will indeed impose a new financial burden on businesses that, unlike competitors, do not pay their fair share of health insurance costs. But the overall impact is likely to be very small. Only 2.6 percent of businesses will pay this assessment, and the revenue raised will amount to 1.4 percent of existing spending on health insurance in the U.S. and only 0.1 percent of wages. ( Turner)
The ACA should raise employment numbers for the medical industry in the short run, more than any partial offsets from new taxes on that sector. The ACA should improve the functioning of our labor market in the medium run, by allowing workers to move to the positions in which they are most productive and satisfied without fear of job lock or losing health benefits. The “economic slowdown” from taxes on the upper class or the small equity payments imposed on employers should be minimal. In the long run there