ObamaCare Will Not Be Defunded or Repealed…So What Comes Next?

The much embattled Affordable Care Act is under siege yet again, with calls for the entire act to be defunded or repealed, even though the first stages of funding will take place early in 2014, with the program reaching its peak in 2016. In particular a recent attempt by Speaker of the House, John Boehner, to have ObamaCare repealed has fallen on deaf Republican and Democratic ears, although the House has sent a plan to the Senate to suggest defunding ObamaCare as the only option - although this plan will almost certainly be rejected.

Some cynics are saying this is an attempt by Boehner to rally the House behind a single cause, considering that his tenure as speaker has been riddled with weakness to say the very least. Despite the attempt to shut ObamaCare down nothing has been set in stone just yet, meaning that for now ObamaCare will stay on its present course unless there's a major political upset. Plus there's also the fact that Obama has hinted that he's prepared to use his power of veto on any attempt to defund ObamaCare, period.

Now the reality is that ObamaCare has become almost universally unpopular, but because it's the Obama administrations biggest legislative success so far it appears to be a do-or-die scenario in terms of making ObamaCare part of American life.

So what will the impact of ObamaCare be for the average American? Firstly only about 2% of Americans will actually benefit from ObamaCare when/if it's finally rolled out in 2014, with a total figure of 6% expected two years later in 2016. Those numbers alone mean that ObamaCare is anything but a comprehensive and inclusive healthcare solution for the people of the United States.

More worrying are the employment trends ObamaCare is causing across the country, including employers firing full-time staff and hiring part-time staff instead - usually the exact same employees. The large chains which aren't actually firing full-time staff and then rehiring them are simply changing their business practices to limit the number of hours an employee can work each week to 29. This ensures that they avoid having to pay for health insurance for those same employees, dodging the financial penalties involved but still maintaining their workforce.

Although the idea of a universal healthcare system is fine in principle most employers are simply unwilling or unable to foot the bill for health insurance for every single employee - something which doesn't seem set to change in the current economy.

Outside of the business impact there's also the impact on the private citizen who can expect their health insurance costs to literally go vertical once ObamaCare becomes a reality.

How much of an increase are the experts predicting?

So far it appears that most people are going to wind up paying around 40% more for the exact same health insurance cover they have right now, leaving them with no option except to cancel it, or downgrade to a policy which offers less cover. All in all this will defeat the purpose of even having health insurance for the average American household - even for those families who do actually receive the ObamaCare subsidies they're entitled to.

The next few weeks will tell a lot as to the future of ObamaCare, but any Republican plan to replace it will be dead in the water from the moment of its announcement.

Troubling times ahead for anyone who relies on their health insurance in any real way.