Is patient protection and affordability act really affordable Research Paper

Is patient protection and affordability act really affordable - Research Paper Example According to CBO the Act will not only bend the healthcare cost curve, but will also help in reducing the deficit in the next ten years and beyond (PPACA Detailed Summary, n.d.). The aim of this paper is to evaluate the Act and find out if it is economically viable or not for the Americans. For this purpose I intend to explore the peer reviewed articles in order to understand the economic effects of the Act. Towards the end a conclusion shall be made based on the findings of the research. Howard (2011) has discussed in detail the economic consequences of the Act in his article â€Å"The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Economy, Employers and the Workforce†. Howard is of the view that the Act is neither affordable nor a solution to the healthcare problems of the Americans. Instead, it would lead to increased problems and cost pressures along with economic degeneration and unemployment. Reducing the fiscal deficit leads to economic growth and job creation. If the US government continues to spend money without any cost effective plans, the US economy will soon be crippled. Slowing the growth rate of the health care cost is therefore a good option. The Act however asks the middle class to purchase heavily subsidized health care insurance and doubles the size of Medicaid program because of the increased number of insured people. Howard (2011) is of the view that the Act is not a suitable way of bending the cost curve, as mentioned by President Obama. As more and more people are insured, the demand for health services would increase which would mean more expansion and spending on health care projects, such as Medicaid. The Act ensures more spending on health care and increased demand will lead to increased cost of health care goods and services. A prominent economist, Jonathan Gruber (quoted online in California Healthline, 2010), explained the Act as â€Å"a spaghetti approach† to cost control. It is just doing a lot without getting any optimal