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The ACA’s Impact on Healthcare Jobs

While all the provisions of 2010’s Affordable Care Health Care Act (ACA) have not yet come into effect, there is still a healthy debate as to how the bill will affect the U.S. economy and healthcare industry.  Also referred to as “Obamacare,” the ACA is one of the most significant health care related bills in the history of the United States.  The ACA may very well boost job opportunities in an already growing field.

An Overview of the Affordable Health Care Act

President Obama signed the ACA into law in 2010 after it narrowly passed through Congress.  The final version of the bill was trimmed down from the initial lofty goals associated with it, such as the creation of a public option for healthcare.  Key provisions of the bill include the following:

• All Americans are required to carry health insurance by 2014; those that fail to do so are subject to a penalty tax

• Lower and middle income citizens without work related healthcare or Medicaid/Medicare are able to buy government subsidized health care plans from insurance companies

• Businesses that earn in excess of $250,000 annually or have over 50 full time employees are mandated to provide health insurance plans for employees

• Insurance companies can no longer turn down applicants that have “pre-existing” health conditions

These are just four of the many provisions that the ACA contains; some provisions are already enacted and the rest coming into effect between 2014 and 2020.

Why the ACA Might Create Medical Assistant and Other Healthcare Industry Jobs

The Obama administration is all but certain that the ACA will lead to a hiring boom in the healthcare field.  The ACA will dramatically increase the number of citizens that carry health insurance, meaning that more people will receive medical care than ever.  Primary healthcare services are expected to see the largest growth; an increase in primary care services will almost certainly lead to an increased need for all types of medical assistants.  Those interested in a healthcare clinical track could be setting themselves up for a promising career outlook.  Additionally, research suggests that the rate of doctors that are quitting the medical field is on the rise, in tandem with a slowdown in medical school enrollment.

A decline in available doctors that coincides with an increased demand for healthcare services will make nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and medical assistants as important as ever.  Aside from the possible job creating benefits of the ACA, the aging baby boomer generation is projected to also increase healthcare demands, adding even more healthcare jobs to the economy.

Future Prospects

Those entering a medical assistant training program are also unlikely to be affected by one notable negative consequence of the ACA, that being the current increase in part time jobs over full time jobs.  Many businesses are either creating more part time jobs or scaling back hours for full time workers in order to avoid having to pay more in employee health care costs.  The almost certain rise in demand for all healthcare workers will likely make medical assistants largely immune from this trend.

While the exact effects of the ACA on the healthcare industry remain to be seen, economists and industry experts alike are predicting a significant increase in demand for medical assistants.  Trade and career specific education is always a wise choice, particularly in the medical field.