Health insurance is essential in order to assist in paying for hospital and clinic visits. Without health insurance cost would be astronomical and people would not be able to afford health care. Blue Cross/ Blue Shield and Health Maintenance Organization, were some of the many insurance companies widely used before the Affordable Care Act. Although health insurances existed, many individuals and families were not able to afford them due to the increase in the cost of health care. New research over the years has enabled the creation of new medicine and technology in our practice. This leads to services being more expensive for individuals, which raises the price of insurance.
The Affordable Care Act was implemented in the year 2010 under President
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Obtaining access to this healthcare has been made easy. All a person has to do is answer some questions on a website regarding their personal information and apply for different health care options. With the different plan options (bronze, silver, gold and platinum), it allows customers to choose the one that best fits their needs (Kilgour, 2016). The insurance offers 10 broad health benefits that range anywhere from newborn care to preventive care to chronic disease management. Also it allows young adults to stay on their parents insurance until the age of 26 (Kilgour, 2016). This allows those continuing college or just those unemployed still have access to receive health …show more content…
This is a huge deal as the national debt remains high, the act will not add but possibly decrease the total amount. With the government spending less money on health insurance, it will be able to provide more jobs for nurses, providers and other healthcare workers to care for the increase in the number of individuals using the health care system.
Although the Affordable Care Act has been a great impact nationally it has also influenced our residents in the state of Minnesota as well. “The uninsured rate in Minnesota has fallen by 51 percent since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, translating into 250,000 Minnesotans gaining coverage” (Impact of the Affordable Care Act in Minnesota, 2016). With many individuals and families gaining coverage, our state will increase not only its health but being able to access care as well. This act improves outcomes, enables access to top of the line providers and treatments, and increases the quality of
The fertility rate is an important factor when evaluating the health of the public. Despite the United States having one of the best healthcare systems in the world, approximately 13% of women between the age of 18 & 44 have trouble conceiving. Although the US has implemented the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a landmark policy, assisting millions of Americans in obtaining health insurance, unless altered, the policy could hurt the 3 out of 20 women who struggle with infertility. After evaluating the core essential benefits of the Affordable Care Act, the views of stakeholders, and the state mandates, an easy solution can be established to assist those suffering from impaired fecundity.
Health insurance and the affordable care act is a major topic in the United States today. This being said, there are many questions that run through one’s mind when the topic is discussed. Questions such as, what exactly is health insurance? What is the Aetna-Humana merge, and how beneficial is it? Should healthy citizens help pay for citizens with prior known health issues? Should people with preexisting conditions even have the option to purchase insurance to help cover medical cost? Although the Affordable Care Act has been in effect for a few years now, there are still some problems today the health insurers face because of this law.
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will only hasten changes that were on the horizon for pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries new there was going to be some type of healthcare reform so they began to take the necessary precautions to prepare. There are vital provisions in the ACA related to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry affecting Medicare and Medicaid. Legislation in the ACA will provide provision to reduce cost for brand name prescriptions (Rx); this will reduce drug cost for patients, but increase rebates and discounts for pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, therefore, imposing cost to the firms. The pharmaceutical and biotech industry was instrumental
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has survived both constitutional and statutory challenges which reached the United States Supreme Court. But opponents of the law are far from defeated. A large number of cases are still pending throughout the country.
The Affordable Care Act includes a requirement that all citizens must have some level of health coverage. The primary method through which the mandate is attempting to create 100% coverage in health care is by instilling fear into the minds of hardworking citizens as those who ignore the rule will have to pay a hefty fine. This mandate, unconstitutional according to the law, will deteriorate the quality of health care, hamper economic growth and cause spikes in insurance premiums. The hope of universal health care may or may not arise under the mandate but new dilemmas and hardships on U.S. citizens will undoubtedly surface.
Implementation of the ACA would require an extensive expansion of the Medicaid program to low income adults in each state.³ The Congressional Budget Office projects that a previously 30 million uninsured Americans, approximately 92% of the legal, non-elderly population, will have coverage by 2022.³ The federal government will pay for 100% of the costs of expanding Medicaid programs until 2016, and then gradually fade their contribution to 90% by 2020.³ Currently, expansion of the Medicaid program is voluntary and several states have stated that they intend to turn down their share of the billions of dollars that has been made available to each state solely for the expansion of this program.³ States deciding to not expand their Medicaid program will not only exclude many poor, vulnerable families from access to an important health care program, but will also exclude themselves from an economic stimulus for their state and thereby decrease the strength of their health care delivery systems by not allowing them to be more financially stable for the long
The Affordable Care Act, also called the ACA or Obamacare, is a health care reform law in America. The Affordable Care Act is a long, complex piece of legislation that attempts to reform the healthcare system by providing more Americans with affordable quality health insurance and by curbing the growth in healthcare spending. The law includes new benefits, rights, and protections, rules for Insurance Companies, taxes, tax breaks, funding, spending, and the creation of committees, education, new job creation, and more. The ACA includes 10 titles that address reform the U.S. healthcare system. Some of the provisions include eliminating lifetime and unreasonable annual limits on benefits. It mandates that EHB (or essential health benefits) must be included on all new plans. These benefits include ambulatory services, emergency care, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse services, rehabilitative services and devices, labs, chronic disease management and oral and vision care for children. The new law prevents individuals from being dropped from their coverage for any reason other than fraud. The ACA requires coverage of preventative services and immunizations and of dependents up to the age of 26 years old. The law also provides assistance for individuals with preexisting conditions. The ACA also caps insurances companies’ non-medical and
Rising health insurance premiums have made healthcare unaffordable in the United States. Health insurance premiums in this country have undergone a steady rise over the past few years while incomes have remained the same. More than 50% of individuals with low incomes holding private insurance in the United States are unable to afford their healthcare costs (Collins, Gunja, Doty & Buetel, 2015). In addition, costs related to healthcare are equally unaffordable to 25% of working-age individuals who hold private health insurance policies (Collins et al., 2015). According to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust (Kaiser/HRET) survey on employer health benefits, employer-sponsored health insurance plans have also had moderate rises in premiums in 2013 for both individuals and family coverage (Claxton et al., 2013). While
Signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act and more commonly known as Obamacare, is arguably the most significant piece of social legislation the United States has passed since Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960’s. The law works to reduce health care spending in the U.S., provide more Americans with access to health insurance, give higher quality care, and make healthcare more affordable. The bill has been known for its extensive length (the condensed version of the law itself is 906 pages long and there thousands of pages of regulations) and with so many details packed in, it’s easy for Americans to get confused. Many argue that Obamacare has done more harm than good for our country; others call it a huge success. Whatever your opinion may be, it’s important to take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the act and the many changes that have been made since it was first signed into law.
In the current U.S. system the free market prevails and companies, in this case, major insurance providers “compete” for business. This competitive business approach should in theory drive costs down. For some reason, however, an argument can be made that it has produced the opposite result in profiteering. The nation’s largest insurer, UnitedHealth, boasted over a 10 percent revenue increase in 2013 according to Forbes (2013). Health insurance affordability contributes to the disparity in access to health care, as evidenced by the fact that there are millions that are still uncovered. A greater majority of certain minorities lack both health insurance and the financial resource to seek out either health care or insurance. While insurance companies reap huge profits the percent of private sector companies offering health insurance has dropped to less than 50 percent (Kaiser, 2013). There is decidedly a lack of coordination of care for this at risk population as well, since treatment is rendered sporadically and with continuously changing providers. The last major challenge is that of improving the quality of health care. According to a 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG), an estimated 13.5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries experienced adverse events during their hospital stay and an additional 13.5 percent experienced a temporary
With 50 million uninsured Americans in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) aimed to insure nearly everyone with “minimum essential” health insurance coverage. The ACA provides that all Americans and individuals lawfully present in the United States be provided health insurance regardless of their health or financial situation. It strengthens existing forms of health insurance coverage, while building a new health insurance market for individuals and families who do not have employer coverage or another form of “minimum essential coverage” such as Medicare or Medicaid. In addition, the ACA imposes fees or assessments on health insurance providers. The fees meant to be absorbed by insurance providers will impact premiums for all individuals covered under fully insured or self-funded plans and policies.
The Affordable Care Act has made many positive changes for uninsured and underinsured citizens. With the addition of a program called Health Insurance Marketplace, it is now possible for uninsured people in every state to purchase private insurance plans, those making under 400% or less of the Federal Poverty Level will be able to have tax credits making insurance more affordable (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014). Insurance companies are no longer allowed to cancel a policy or raise rates when a client gets sick. Insurance companies cannot refuse coverage to individuals with preexisting conditions such as cancer (“Quality Improvement,” 2015). Insurance companies now must cover preventive care and screenings allowing diseases like cancer to be caught early (“Quality Improvement,” 2015). Research has shown that through health screenings
For centuries, health care has been an ever changing entity within the United States. The cost of health insurance, medication, and medical care has fluctuated from high to low. Over the years with all the changes to healthcare, those in Congress try to appease everyone that is involved. For example, trying to make healthcare affordable for those who are less fortunate and live around the poverty line. As well as, employers who may have to revamp their insurance plans offered to the employees. Recently the talk about healthcare has put many people in an uproar. Health care reform has been a very debatable topic since President Obama has been in office. Health care reform, also known as Obama Care, has a section called the Affordable Care
Obamacare offers all different numbers of new benefits, rights, and protection. It prevents gender discrimination and stopping insurance companies from denying the customer coverage or charging that person on more health based (Obamacare.net). The ACA doesn’t guarantee free coverage, but has helped millions of Americans over the past seven years (Patient Protection and ACA). Before the law was passed fifty million Americans lacked health insurance of any kind, because it’s very expensive (Obamacare.net). The ACA requires every authentic American citizen to get health insurance or pay tax. The organization provides many way to sign up for Obamacare by going to a health insurance marketplace or a direct provider, it depends on the level of income,
On 3/23/2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, one of the most difficult reforms of the United States medical system in the last forty four years. The Affordable care act changed the non group insurance market in the U.S., regulates that residents have health care coverage, greatly expands public insurance & subsidizes private insurance, raises revenues from a variety of new taxes, & reduces and