Point

by Jenna Milinik

The Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, may benefit those who don’t have health insurance, but it is actually more financially harmful for college students.

The Affordable Care Act is not compatible with financial aid. Financial aid is a combination of the individual’s estimated family contribution and cost of attendance.

However, the cost of health insurance is usually not a part of the cost of attendance, so students who don’t have money for school wind up having to buy into this health care.

For those who don’t want to buy into Obamacare, they will have to pay a tax penalty of either $95 in 2014, or 1 percent of their yearly income. If they continue to not buy into the Affordable Care Act, the price will raise each year until they must pay $695 in 2016.

For family households that choose not to get health care, the fee is even higher. These households must pay either 2.5 percent of their gross income per year or pay the flat rate fee as it is phased in, meaning that it will increase each year.

Some claim that Obamacare will help the poor because students can stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until age 26. However, the worst-off parents who don’t have health insurance will probably opt to pay the $95 fee.

Until these students turn 26, they won’t have health insurance and it may be tough to find a job that requires it. Then these students will have to buy into what ever health care plan is left over before being forced to pay the $695 fee.

The only ones who are exempt from the tax penalty and aren’t required to have health insurance are those who make less than $10,000 a year or encounter financial hardship. Also, those who are incarcerated, those who have religious objections, and undocumented immigrants won’t have to get health insurance and won’t be penalized.

Another downside of this Act is for those who have established health care plans, may have to pay higher costs.

Fullerton College students are not automatically covered by the Affordable Care Act or by any specific extended health care coverage. Students must pay a $17 health fee for each semester but this cost is for incidents that happen on campus during class-time hours. This fee covers direct medical services, crisis intervention and counseling. It is not health insurance.

Counter-point

by Brittany Gonzalez

Some students are on their parents health plan but most students don’t have health care. Soon, those students will have to pay a fee. Once January hits ObamaCare will be put into action and they must pay the $95. So how can they stop this from happening? Get insurance and get covered.

Students are more probable to get into an accident of some sort, whether it is a car accident or another kind of accident, which causes them serious injuries that can send them to the hospital. The trip to the hospital can cost a lot of money that students don’t have. A trip to the hospital can cost more than an average person’s rent.

Healthcare.com said that the bill could be anywhere from $600 to $3,900 for a ride in the ambulance. This is a bill that will show up on your doorstep if you don’t have insurance and the hospital will not care if you can’t afford it. They will still expect you to pay.

If you have ever seen JohnQ, then you would know that a bill from the doctor’s office could cost more than what an average person makes. It is more than what a student has, that is for sure.

There are plenty of resources that can help you find a plan that you can afford if you do not have money. www.healthcare.gov gives you a chance to look up a health care provider that you can afford.

The health center on campus has brochures to help students find low-costing insurance. There are also online resources that can help students find a health care provider. www.ehealthinsurance.com gives you a list of health insurance companies and the amount per month you will have to pay.

The cost of the fee that everyone will have to pay if they do not have health insurance will go up each year so this could really hurt students and make things really difficult for those who struggle already.

Jobs are even requiring their employees to have health insurance now. Some places are helping their employees find a health insurance with tools such as ehealth and healthcare.

So will the cost of health care be damaging for students? Maybe, but the price of health care would not be as much as a doctors bill so it will be more beneficial in case of an accident.