Introduction: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
There can be no gainsaying as to the fact that a large fraction of the American citizenry remains devoid of health insurance. This means that average Americans, running into millions, find it increasingly difficult to access healthcare of whatever nature. As a consequence, this disadvantage has resulted in the proliferation of ailments and deaths that could well be avoided. Perhaps it is best we ask ourselves why the access to affordable healthcare has not been prioritized by previous administration regimes, being that it is the fulcrum of well-being and basically the backbone of a healthy, working nation. The answer should have been realized sooner, rather than latter, but as it turns out, Americans had to content with agitating for this basic necessity and on March, 2010, their efforts were rewarded by the signing into law by President Barrack Obama, of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as the Obama Care Act (The White House, 2014). In summary, the PPACA act, considered a revolutionary legislation, would extend comprehensive, cheap, and quality insurance coverage for/to many Americans. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and inherent effects of the Affordable Care Act in order to determine from current and past literature, whether or not the act should be subjected to reforms.
Summary of the PPACA Act
In order to effectively comprehend, analyze and present the arguments for and against the Affordable Care Act, it is of ultimate importance that we emphatically define and summarize the act, and whatever content it entails. As stated by Democratic Policy & Communications Center (2014), PC...
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...cess. But neither side wants to talk about it. The Washington Post, 2014. Viewed on 13th March 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/06/medicaid-is-obamacares-biggest-success-but-neither-side-wants-to-talk-about-it/
Medicareadvocay.org. Implementation Timeline Reflecting the Affordable Care Act. Mediaadvocay.org, N.d. Viewed on 13th March 2014, from http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/InfoByTopic/Reform/10_04.21.WhiteHouseReformTimeline.pdf
Rosenbaum, S. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implications for Publoc Health Policy and Practice. US National Library of Medicine, 2011. Viewed on 13th March 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001814/
The White House. Health Care Reform. The White House, 2014. Viewed on 13th March 2014, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/2011_erp_chapter5.pdf
One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.
Healthcare has been a topic of discussion with the majority of the country. Issues with insurance coverage, rising costs, limited options to gain coverage, and the quality of healthcare have become concerns for law makers, healthcare providers and the general public. Some of those concerns were alleviated with the passing of the Affordable Care Act, but new concerns have developed with problems that have occurred in the implementation of the new law. The main concerns of the country are if the Affordable Care Act will be able to overcome the issues that plagued the old healthcare system, the cost of the program, and how will the new law affect the quality of the health delivery system.
Tate, Nick J.. ObamaCare Survival Guide: The Affordable Care Act and What It Means for You
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by President Barack Obama is a significant change of the American healthcare system since insurance plans programs like Medicare and Medicaid (“Introduction to”). As a result, “It is also one of the most hotly contested, publicly maligned, and politically divisive pieces of legislation the country has ever seen” (“Introduction to”). The Affordable Care Act should be changed because it grants the government too much control over the citizen’s healthcare or the lack of individual freedom to choose affordable health insurance.
Obama Care has been a critical issue that has been discussed in many areas, especially in the social media, Television programs and also in the Newspapers. New York Times (Feb 4 2014) and Huffing Post(30th Jan 2014) have carried out a candid discussion on this issue with their recent articles receiving immense praise and the same time several jibes from different states in America. The Obama Care issue has led to a great political tussle between the Republicans and Democrats.
The people of the United States have been suffering from a number of serious issues, all related to health care: millions go uninsured every year, health care is too expensive, and the quality of care is poor, especially for the price. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obama Care, began addressing these issues. The ACA is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law was enacted with the goals of increasing the quality and affordability of health insurance, lowering the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage, and reducing the costs of healthcare for individuals and the government. Although several of the act’s promises have not come into effect yet, it has managed to extend healthcare to the repetitively uninsured. While many of the accomplishments that the act has already made, and aims to make, are no small feat, there are still issues within the policies and procedures. For example, Obama Care boasts that it is a universal healthcare system. However, it is unlike any other in the world, and is technically forced on citizens in a variety of ways. It has been debated, that for that reason, the new law may come into violation of several human rights. Another significant issue with the ACA regards a cap on citizen’s out-of-pocket expenses, and the fact that the administration decided to delay making a definitive decision, potentially costing many American’s unprecedented medical fees.
Wear, Stephen. "Sense and Nonsense in the Conservative Critique of ObamaCare." The American Journal Of Bioethics: AJOB 11.12 (2011): 17-20. Print
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a federal that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010 to systematically improve, reform, and structure the healthcare system. The ACA’s ultimate goal is to promote the health outcomes of an individual by reducing costs. Previously known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the ACA was established in order to increase the superiority, accessibility, and affordability of health insurance. President Obama has indicated the ACA is fully paid for and by staying under the original $900 billion dollar budget; it will be able to provide around 94% of Americans with coverage. In addition, the ACA has implemented that implemented that insurance companies can no longer deny c...
The Affordable Care Act gives health insurance to the individuals in need while simultaneously taking away the rights of those who currently are protected. Statistics on the Obamacare website show that only 15% of American’s are currently uninsured (How Does Obama Care Work?) which leaves a whole 85% of American’s who will not benefit from this Act due to their current insurance prices rising. Pr...
More than half of the American population is convinced that the Health Care Reform is necessary and it must be carried out by the government. Hence, the government plays a huge role in the health care transformation as it provides the nation with the health care plans and outlines other possibilities for medical coverage like the health insurance exchange. President Obama suggests his own plan of stability and security for all Americans. This plan is to provide more security and stability for those who have health insurance as well as those who don’t. Obama believes that it will lower the cost of health care for American families, business and government (The Obama Plan: Stability & Security For All Americans). In general, 62 percent of the population supports the idea of the go...
If the United States had unlimited funds, the appropriate response to such a high number of mentally ill Americans should naturally be to provide universal coverage that doesn’t discriminate between healthcare and mental healthcare. The United States doesn’t have unlimited funds to provide universal healthcare at this point, but the country does have the ability to stop coverage discrimination. A quarter of the 15.7 million Americans who received mental health care listed themselves as the main payer for the services, according to one survey that looked at those services from 2005 to 2009. 3 Separate research from the same agency found 45 percent of those not receiving mental health care listing cost as a barrier.3 President Obama and the advisors who helped construct The Affordable Care Act recognized the problem that confronts the mentally ill. Mental healthcare had to be more affordable and different measures had to be taken to help patients recover. Although The Affordable Care Act doesn’t provide mentally ill patients will universal coverage, the act has made substantial changes to the options available to them.
As I’m coming to the twilight of my undergraduate degree at Charter Oak Stat College, I’ve chosen to write about the Affordable care act so I can better understand the reality of today’s healthcare system from the facilities, providers and patients point of view. I feel understanding this information will help me create an environment that can adapt and accelerate through the transition due to the affordable healthcare act’s broad impact on healthcare as it was once known and practiced. I feel whether I move forward as a nurse, provider or administrator, this information will be invaluable.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the real title of the bill, enacted in 2009. It is far better known as The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. This bill represents the biggest revolution and improvement, or at least an attempt towards it, in the health care of the United States of America since the passage of Medicaid and Medicare in 1965. The main purpose of the ACA implementation was, as the bill states in its title, to make: ˝ Quality, Affordable Health Care for All Americans˝ possible. Before the ObamaCare, there were millions of American who were uninsured, or had poor quality insurance plan. On the other hand those who did have health care coverage, even the decent one, we left on their own when insurance companies abused their trust and deprived them of their rights. That was the reason why the government and the President Obama, hoped to increase the quality and make the health insurance more affordable. The idea was to lower uninsured rate by firstly increasing the extent of public and also private coverage, and then secondly, to minimise the costs of health care for both individuals and the government.
Due to the affordable Care Act, the middle class will not have the finances to support the everyday cost of living in Indiana. Americans have a hard enough time surviving in the recovering economy. Now they have to deal with higher premiums and increased penalties if they do not sign up for the Affordable Care Act.
The Affordable Care Act has been at the center of political debate within the United States for the since current President Barack Obama signed it into law in 2010. The act represents the most significant regulatory healthcare overhaul of the United States healthcare system since the passage of both Medicaid and Medicare collectively Initially, the ACA was enacted with the goals of increasing the availability of affordable health insurance, lowering the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance and reducing cost of healthcare for individuals and the government (Robert, 2012). Proponents of the act’s passage have articulated that the ACA provides service for free, such as preventative health coverage for those registered, it requires that insurance companies can no longer deny person’s or children with pre-existing conditions and will close the Medicare “Donut Hole” for prescription drugs. While the Act has the potential to provide better quality of healthcare for the American populace, opponents argue that the ACA is flawed and could create a quagmire of cost and confusion with its implementation. Arguments against it hold the belief that it would force employers with religious affiliation to provide services to employees through their health plans that directly contradict their values. As a result of cost, companies may void out of their employer health insurance and pay a penalty as opposed to pay for employee insurance. Lastly, the act is said to focus more on registration the actually addressing cost of healthcare. While these issues are pertinent, the overall accessibility to healthcare created by the ACA and outweighs the negating arguments.