Econ 545

Econ 545

Week 2 Ethical Issues Paper

Ethical Issues Paper

Currently, there are many ethical issues that are plaguing the world as we know it and it is unfortunate that with many of the issues the bottom line always seems to steer back to money and most often the people that are affected are those that fall in the medium to low income brackets. The affordable care act has caused much division within our government sector, this is because the democrats are for the act and the republicans oppose the act. It is apparent that health insurance is needed by all Americans, because everyone deserves the right to seek medical care if they are in need. Many oppose the affordable care act because everyone feels that the cost is going to affect them directly, whether it’s the healthcare providers who will increase their prices to absorb the restrictions placed by the act or if it is the patrons who are being forced to purchase an insurance plan by March 2014 or be faced with monetary penalties.

There are many advances to the affordable care act, the first is that no one can be denied coverage, the second is that children can stay on the their parents policy until the age of 26. In addition more preventative care is covered now (HealthCare Law Fact Sheets). The determinants of supply and demand are all apparent and as Americans browse the healthcare market place to shop insurance plans they will be offered the same or similar products from different insurance providers (Stone). The economic effect of the affordable care act is going to cause healthcare providers to raise the prices of their products and services, in which this will not decrease the need of the products and services, but it still may cause patients to be hesitant about seeking medical services for fear of their out of pocket cost. These costs do not include what is paid for their monthly premium (HealthCare Law Fact Sheets); the cost would include co-pays, deductibles and co-insurances. These...