Over the last several months it has been impossible to turn on the news without hearing something about the Affordable Care Act. There have been many misconceptions, countless petty political moves and various debates regarding the constitutionality and economic implications of universal health care.

Before I begin my criticisms of the ACA, it is important to say that it isn’t without its silver linings. While it is logistically flawed and many people have had nightmarish experiences thus far, Obamacare is not the end of the world as the GOP believes. It is, however, a very large step in the wrong direction.

A major misunderstanding about universal health care is that it is free. “Free health care” DOES NOT EXIST. Someone, somewhere is paying for it. Obamacare hinges on young, healthy people paying for things they will likely not need in order to keep costs affordable for the elderly and those with serious conditions. Considering the poor financial status of many younger U.S. citizens and remembering that people can stay on their parents’ coverage until the age of 26 (a provision of the ACA), Obamacare seems doomed to fail without drastic changes in enrollment.

In California — a state considered relatively typical for Obamacare enrollment — 23 percent of those currently enrolled qualify as “young,” well below the 36% percent supposedly needed to cover the cost of the sick and elderly.

The notion that people currently do not have health care is also something of a misconception. 911 operators do not say to callers, “You don’t have insurance? … Sorry, we won’t be sending anyone.” There are already hospitals that allow underprivileged Americans to get care at a reduced cost or for free, and Obamacare is not helping these establishments. The ACA changes section 501r of the IRS tax code, expanding requirements for tax exempt status of charitable hospitals providing free care to the uninsured, which will likely force many to converge with entirely for-profit organizations.

Perhaps you have heard the occasional sensationalized horror story, a fear-mongering effort to guilt people toward health care reform. No doubt some people fall through the cracks of an imperfect system that does need some reform. Certain issues are even well addressed by provisions in the ACA. Regulation of excessive profiteering by pharmaceutical companies is one good example. Yet such reformations could have been passed apart from government-run health care, likely with less opposition.

Worst of all, the currently dysfunctional Obamacare undermines most of its supposed goals.

President Barack Obama claims the ACA was passed to ensure affordable, quality health care for all. Yet enrollment has stalled due to a faulty website and general skepticism. Many premiums have gone up and are expected to increase further if more young citizens do not enroll. People are now forced to buy preventative care they may not want or need in order to meet ACA minimum plan requirements. Many well-liked plans have been terminated as a result, and even more plans may get dropped as employers are unlikely to meet ACA requirements by providing plans with preventative care to all employees working 30 or more hours per week.

As if the threat of malpractice wasn’t quality control enough, doctors will begin getting paid by the “quality” of their work in 2015 as opposed to the number of patients they see. Many may reject patients with poor prognoses and the greatest need for care in favor of patients with simple needs, for whom “quality” treatment is manageable.

Blaming insurance companies for the Obamacare’s shortcomings has been an ignorant move of Obamacare supporters. The truth is that companies were forced by the ACA to cut plans in order to comply with Obamacare’s minimum standards. When the president promised people could keep plans they liked, he either didn’t understand his own law or was lying.

It is worth mentioning that the president also promised Obamacare was not a tax, but passed it as a tax because the government cannot force citizens to buy a good or a service — exactly what “mandated health care” seems like.

Still, supporters ignore the glaring flaws of the ACA and stand behind it because of its supposed “good intentions.”

Caleb McCardell ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in medical microbiology & immunology and neurobiology.