Affordable Health Care for America Act

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For the first time in U.S. history, every American will have access to quality, affordable health care under the updated health insurance reform legislation passed by the House. "The Affordable Health Care for America Act or H.R. 3962, blends and updates the three versions of previous bills passed by the House committees. "(Kruger, M. 2010) This bill is expected to ease the out-of-control costs of health insurance, introduce competition into the health care marketplace that will help maintain coverage affordability, protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and guarantee all Americans access to quality, consistent , affordable health care. The Association of American Medical Colleges stated in a Mar. 21, 2010 article; "we have taken the first step towards truly transforming health care in this country. This historic vote by the House of Representatives sets into motion long-overdue efforts to cover 32 million uninsured Americans and to assure their access to high-quality care. The nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals have expressed their full support for this bill to President Obama, and now stand ready to work with the administration and Congress to carry out these significant changes to our health care delivery system." (AAMC, 2010) The health care reform bill creates a shared responsibility for health care among individuals, employers and the government to ensure that all Americans have affordable essential health benefits. Two of the key components, and possibly the most debated or criticized of the Affordable Health Care for America Act are the individual mandates and the health insurance exchange subsidy programs. The individual health insurance mandates under the n... ... middle of paper ... ...re be reporting of those who don’t complying? Social workers in a health care setting will be the influenced more drastically than others. They will have to deal with some of the changes in the health care delivery system; things such as; physician and nursing shortages, changes in payment options and follow-up care, etc. Although it may seem easier because everyone will supposedly have insurance but what plan do they have what does it cover is it current, and more. Other issues that will affect Social Workers is that with the growing insured population, will there be available beds in nursing facilities and hospitals, services, and follow-up care appointments availability in timely manner. There will also be changes to Medicare and other programs that will influence the social work field. Helping with enrollment and maintaining insurance will also be a concern.

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