When you are a leader, your leadership decisions impact those you lead and others. When you make a good decision, it has a positive effect on others. Additionally, when you make a bad decision, it can have major negative effects on others. Often your leadership decisions have a very long lasting impact on others.
Affordable Healthcare Act
In 2009, the U.S. passed the Affordable Care Act (Known as Obama Care). This Act was branded as a law that would make healthcare much more affordable for all Americans and provide additional healthcare benefits to more than 30,000 uninsured people. When the law was introduced there was a strong push to pass the law and do it very quickly. The law was over 1,000 pages and no one had time to read much of it. Because of the push to pass the law, many lawmakers went ahead and voted yes to the law without reading it or even knowing much of what it said.
Leadership Decisions Impact: Affordable Healthcare Act
Fast forward to today and the major parts of the law are starting to take effect. The Wall Street Journal had an article about the Affordable Health Care Act today called Wal-Mart to End Health Insurance for Some Part-Time Employees. In the article, it explained that “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cutting health insurance for another 30,000 part-time workers and raising premiums for its other employees, as U.S. corporations push to contain costs in the wake of the federal health-care law.”
Additionally, the article explained that the law is also affecting many other companies and employees throughout the country. Avnet is a Phoenix, AZ based company that is paring back its insurance policies. Aon Hewitt is cutting its insurance program in exchange for a cash payout to its 850,000 employees and dependents. The estimates show that the total cost to private employers is expected to rise by $37 billion (22%) next year as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
At the time the law was passed it was promised that every American would have health insurance once the law was enacted. However, within the article alone it identified that 50,000 Americans would get their healthcare cut outright because they were only part-time employees.
Nationwide it seems that none of the promises are being realized because the healthcare costs are going up and the benefits are being cut. People are losing benefits and/or having to pay more for the same or less benefits. This is presenting many challenges for Americans nationwide.
When the lawmakers initially looked at the Affordable Care Act, they had high expectations that the law would change America by improving healthcare and making life better for everyone. They did not, however, spend the necessary time reading and studying the law to know its true impact on everyone.
Leadership Decisions Impact: What is your Impact?
As a leader, you may not be creating laws that impact everyone in the country, but each decision you make has a lasting impact on those you lead. Sometimes impacts are felt immediately and sometimes they aren’t felt for quite some time. There will be an impact, though, so it is essential that you consider the long-term impact of each decision you make.
What impacts have your leadership decisions had on others? How do you determine the impacts of your leadership decisions before making them final? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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