The Affordable Care Act Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The United States has had an immigration issue for many years that serves some people, practically enslaves others and causes many others to get angry. Of course, this issue concerns illegal immigration and legal Hispanic farm workers. The population who is best served by the influx of workers are the farms in the central valley of California and other areas that use these individuals to harvest crops. The workers in the United States illegally are in constant fear of being discovered, and they are often exploited because of their immigration status. Legal citizens are, in large part, angry with the situation because of the cost incurred by so many people entering the country and not contributing to the tax burden imposed on citizens of the country. The issue for this paper though is what type of healthcare women in this situation are getting, and whether it is sufficient. This paper contends that this population is underserved for many reasons, and this group was chosen for that reason. One solution is to develop a cultural competence by understanding the population's culture, how they see healthcare workers, and to determine what their healthcare needs are.

Large populations of Americans are uninsured mainly because of the high cost of insurance. Majority of the uninsured are the low-income working families’. The adults represent a higher percentage of the uninsured than children. Before the law, you could be denied coverage or treatment because you had been sick in the past, be dropped mid-treatment for making a simple mistake on your application, hence, the Affordable Care Act was implemented into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barrack Obama to make sure that every American irrespective of their status will be insured and have full access to proper health care benefits, rights and protection(1). To understand the

In 2010, ANA released a brief stating their stance on access to health care for both documented and undocumented immigrants residing in the states. In the brief, the group asserts that health care is a basic human right. They state that “immigrants, whether documented or not, should have access to quality health care including the opportunity to purchase insurance” (Godfrey, 2010). Undocumented immigrants do not seek medical assistance to manage chronic illness for fear of deportation and cost. This means their health status will continue to deteriorate and the cost to provide treatment will skyrocket. “Limiting adequate health care leads to increases in health care costs and possible health risks” (Godfrey, 2010). At this time, this population is only eligible to apply for charity care at local acute care facilities and one time only emergency Medicaid, burdening the taxpayer. Allowing people to purchase their own health insurance will lower the cost in health care (Godfrey,

Latinos face many barriers that will also affect their process in seeking services. One of the barriers they face is due to their financial issues and transportation (Bauer et al. 2000; Bell and Naugle 2005; Fugate et al. 2005; Lewis et al. 2005; Strube 1988 as cited in Mookerjee; Fernandez, & Chin,

For many illegal aliens, seeking healthcare is undermined by the fear of being deported. Many would rather suffer through an illness or injury than seek care for fear that they will be sent back to Mexico. Unfortunately, but the time that they finally get to a point where it is absolutely necessary to obtain care, the cost of that care has become a much larger figure than it would have been had they obtained care sooner.

Americans have been faced with a new health care reform act known as Affordable Care Act initiated in 2010. Why was it so important for this nation to reform is health care system? How are we sure the ACA is improving our system for the American people? For many years, the health care industry has left many Americans uninsured. With health care costs on the rise and very few able to afford costs, and the quality of care in underserved areas not what it should be has left this nation largely unhealthy. Several landmark reports, including the Center for Disease Control factsheets and the Healthy People 2020 have astounding statistics confirming these alarming rates and clearly identifying the need for reform. The Affordable Care Act is the starting foundation for Americans to start investing in their own promotion of wellness and disease prevention. By choosing healthier lifestyle changes, individuals can make a difference which in turn will improve our nation’s overall health for the better.

Questions are constantly circulating around the new Affordable Care Act. Many do not know what it does and the government is trying to make it out to be a big savior to the medical field for doctors and patients alike. The Affordable Care Act has also been given the name Obamacare because of its ties to the President. He believes that increasing the amount of people on insurances of any kind that meets his “standards” will help health care become more available and more profitable. Unfortunately, these claims are not true as Obamacare is clearly going to negatively impact health care in all aspects. The problems start for patients who get on government healthcare programs, such as Medicaid, with the fact that the treatment plans are extremely

A memorandum authored by Edwards (2010) for the Center for Immigration Studies, contends that of the estimated 6.7 million uninsured undocumented immigrants 3.1 million would be eligible for Medicaid. Edwards (2010) proclaims this entitlement is due to the low incomes earned, which is unlikely to waver based on low educational attainment. While Edwards (2010) acknowledges that undocumented immigrants are generally younger and have better health than the overall Medicaid population, the author posits that, “covering 3.1 million amnestied immigrants would conservatively cost taxpayers $48.6 billion dollars…between 2014-2019” (Edwards, 2010, p. 1). This number does not include those undocumented immigrants, which if granted access to the benefits of the ACA, who would receive subsidies based on income. Thus the author argues the conservative nature of the estimates, and concerns over the difficulties presented in estimating actual costs of insuring the undocumented population (Edwards,

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. It was intended to provide the American people with better health coverage and care. Unfortunately, many people are still not covered due to a lack of information and because they simply cannot afford insurance even at a discounted price. Many feel that there is still a good deal of confusion regarding the ACA which can prevent people, especially women, from getting the coverage and care that they need. Women who are not used to getting medical care, may not know that programs now exist that make health care services free or very inexpensive. The women who are the least informed are the ones who need it the most as they experience high rates of unplanned births and chronic illnesses. It will be financially beneficial for local and state governments to find ways to get this information to women so as to prevent health problems that will cost the government millions of dollars in the long run.

A key goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to decrease the number of uninsured individuals, many of whom are in low-income families and are minorities (Kaiser Family Foundation 2016). Under the ACA, immigrants who are in the U.S. legally are eligible for coverage through the health insurance marketplace but undocumented immigrants are not (HealthCare.gov) even when using their own money to purchase. There are estimates of 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in the country as of 2014 (Krogstad, Passel, & Cohn 2016). It is estimated that California was home to more than two million undocumented immigrants in 2013. In 2016, California passed SB 10, a bill that would require the California Health Benefit Exchange, which facilitates the enrollment of qualified individuals into health plans, to apply to the United States Department of Health and Human Services for a waiver to allow individuals who are not eligible to obtain health coverage through the Exchange because of their immigration status to obtain coverage from the Exchange (California Legislative Information). This paper will explore California’s SB 10 legislation, its purpose, and how it will seek to serve its undocumented immigrant population and their health needs.

Opponents of illegal immigrants receiving healthcare services do not believe that illegal immigrants should have access to healthcare when so many Americans are uninsured. Illegal and undocumented immigrants, according to opponents, do not have a right to healthcare because it is a benefit that they do not deserve and that taxpayers cannot afford. Furthermore, illegal immigrants, who seek publicly funded healthcare services in the United States, cause a financial drain not only on the healthcare system but also the national economy. For example, FAIR (Federation for American Immigration) estimates that the cost of reimbursed medical care in California in 2004 was about $1.4 billion and $.85 billion in Texas, with one of the frequent costs to U.S. taxpayers being the delivery of babies to illegal alien mothers.

There are several arguments spotlighting the effect of illegal immigration on current rising health care cost. To this point, illegal immigrants and elected representatives across the country are unable to deny the increased costs placed upon the backs of American taxpayers due to the rise in health care and health care insurance cost. A bill initiated in Indiana will demand local hospitals create a report regarding the costs associated with treating illegal immigrants. Additionally, on a countrywide level, there is an ongoing endeavor to push illegal immigrant children toward federally funded Children’s Health Insurance by the governing body which in turn will effectively raise the current tax rates for all Americans. As an alternative, some policymakers are trying to use creative language in order to guarantee that illegal immigrants were blocked from obtaining health care services (Maxwell & Adolfo 324). For undocumented immigrants within the United States, acquiring health related services or care systematically increases the cost for American taxpayers across the board. Health care providers, Health care insurance companies and both the state and federally supplemented health care funds ( i.e. Medicaid) are forced to close the gap on the negative revenue return by increasing cost of services due to the excessive use and write off of public health care funds and services by illegal immigrants.

Health care in the United States is driven by a patchwork of services and financing. Americans access health care services in a variety of ways — from private physicians’ offices, to public hospitals, to safety-net providers. This diverse network of health care providers is supported by an equally diverse set of funding streams. The United States spends almost twice as much on health care as any other country, topping $2 trillion each year. (WHO.INT 2000) However, even with overall spending amounting to more than $7,400 per person, millions of individuals cannot access the health care services they need.(Foundation 2009) So when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a the Affordable Care Act or ACA) was passed in the summer

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as “Obamacare”, has drastically altered healthcare in America. The goal of this act was to give Americans access to affordable, high quality insurance while simultaneously decreasing overall healthcare spending. The ACA had intended to maximize health care coverage throughout the United States, but this lofty ambition resulted in staggeringly huge financial and human costs.