Health is by far the most important thing for a human being, so every penny invested on it has to work. This essay is about the study of the current state of American health reforms and why they are desperately required. Unfortunately things are not that bright as they might seem, an American investing most of their money on health care is basically not getting the level of health care they deserves. With all the investment in the medical field and all the advancements of medical domains, government should be providing best health care in the world for its people.
This paper discusses the Affordable Care Act and questions that were given to us by our instructor. The Affordable Care Act, or ACA, is a health care system reform that was implemented in 2010 by Obama, the current, and then president. There was a great deal of debate when the reform came about, and what it would mean for companies, individuals, and medical care providers. Ultimately, it was designed to bring a reform to the nation’s broken health care system ((Manchikanti, Caraway, Parr, Fellows, & Hirsch, 2010). There were so many individuals without health insurance who did not get the care they needed, and this reform came about to try and create a more equal and fair system that gives everybody a sort of equal chance at insurance and health care. Like any change, it’s frightening when something new and unknown comes about, and that is exactly what this did. There were many who were unhappy with it getting passed, as well as many who were pleased with it. This didn’t just fall onto Republicans or Democrats, but individuals who were in the health care systems, like medical care providers and certain insurance companies, which it would affect. In this paper we aim to examine some background information about the Affordable Care Act, key questions that relate to it, and explore some new information learned about the ACA through this course and its readings.
In America the affordability and equality of access to healthcare is a crucial topic of debate when it comes to one's understanding of healthcare reform. The ability for a sick individual to attain proper treatment for their ailments has reached the upper echelons of government. Public outcry for a change in the handling of health insurance laws has aided in the establishment of the Affordable Healthcare Law (AHCL) to ensure the people of America will be able to get the medical attention they deserve as well as making that attention more affordable, as the name states. Since its creation, the AHCL has undergone scrutiny towards its effects on the government and its people; nevertheless, the new law must not be dismantled due to its function as a cornerstone of equal-opportunity healthcare, and if such a removal is allowed, there will be possibly detrimental effects on taxes, the economy, and poor people.
We all know that the Affordable Care Act is going to tremendously change the United States healthcare system for the next coming decades, because more coverage will be provided to the women, men, old, and young of our nation, and to the many businesses all over this country. This new health care reform act will change the landscape of health care coverage by implementing that individuals, families, and business owners (mainly small) will be able to put in control of their health in there hands. Yet that is not a guarantee we can forecast toward the future. However, the population in the United States is growing older. According to a statistic by McKenzie of Community health, there were 12 million people at the age of 65 or older, and in 2008 that number had more then doubled to 38.9 million and keeps growing on a day-to-day basis. With all these people that are aging increasingly, they will need the healthcare system to resolve the many problems that will be faced. From paying for hospital stays, clinic visits, high costing prescription, housing, and many other services, the healthcare system will be drained of its funds. Lets face it, you don’t get healthier as you grow, and with 38.9 million over 65, our taxes are going straight into providing their coverage. I believe that there should be cuts made to the Medicare program that is being provided to our baby-boomers in order to bring a balance in our spending and services that are provided to the baby-boomers.
Former President Bill Clinton introduced a Health Security Proposal in 1993, which was his attempt for a fundamental reform of the American healthcare system (Longest, 2010). In January of 1993, Clinton announced that he would be putting together a team of experts to review the issue of health care cost and develop a plan to propose to congress (Bok, 1998). On September 22, 1993, Clinton then made a speech to Congress announcing this new health plan (Bok, 1993). In his speech, Clinton urged law makers to “Fix a health care system that is badly broken, giving every American health security-health care that is always there, health care that can never be taken away” (Bok, 1993). He also mentioned in his speech that health care was uncertain and too expensive, too wasteful and too bureaucratic- “It has too much fraud and too much greed” (Rample, 2009).
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.
Rak, S., & Coffin, J. (2013, March). Affordable Care Act. The Journal of Medical Practice
In order to make ones’ health care coverage more affordable, the nation needs to address the continually increasing medical care costs. Approximately more than one-sixth of the United States economy is devoted to health care spending, such as: soaring prices for medical services, costly prescription drugs, newly advanced medical technology, and even unhealthy lifestyles. Our system is spending approximately $2.7 trillion annually on health care. According to experts, it is estimated that approximately 20%-30% of that spending (approx. $800 billion a year) appears to go towards wasteful, redundant, or even inefficient care.
In recent years, the number of Americans who are uninsured has reached over 45 million citizens, with millions more who only have the very basic of insurance, effectively under insured. With the growing budget cuts to medicaid and the decreasing amount of employers cutting back on their health insurance options, more and more americans are put into positions with poor health care or no access to it at all. At the heart of the issue stems two roots, one concerning the morality of universal health care and the other concerning the economic effects. Many believe that health care reform at a national level is impossible or impractical, and so for too long now our citizens have stood by as our flawed health-care system has transformed into an unfixable mess. The good that universal healthcare would bring to our nation far outweighs the bad, however, so, sooner rather than later, it is important for us to strive towards a society where all people have access to healthcare.
In a cultural and technological world so heavily influenced by the United States, the lack of access to universal and affordable health care remains a critical point of debate and embarrassment in a country far behind in its citizen's accessibility to it. The current establishment's answer, known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a piece of passed legislation that aims to put forth access to a market in which insurance providers compete within fair rates to insure those who previously had no access or could not afford it. Though recently put to the test in a number of states, a number of glaring ethical and operational issues remain that will test the fiber of the new found plan in which some cases show that it is more detrimental to some citizens rather than helpful. In effect, the goal by which the Affordable Care Act seeks to address providing insurance to millions of people who would otherwise be unable to gain access is an honorable and perhaps necessary gesture, but the ethical questions of whether or not this particular approach violates the rights of citizens, or is a natural right unto itself remains untested.
President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on March 20, 2010. Prior to this mandate, individuals with pre-existing conditions were often unable to attain health care coverage. Controversy surrounded health care reform long before the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. While President Clinton’s administration failed to overhaul our nation’s health care system in 1993 with the Health Security Act, the Affordable Care Act was the most sweeping national reform since President Lyndon Johnson’s Social Security Amendments Act created Medicare and Medicaid. Although this law has faced fierce opposition, the Affordable Care Act will help Americans lead healthier lifestyles, while increasing their financial stability.
The U.S. expends far more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet we get fewer benefits, less than ideal health outcomes, and a lot of dissatisfaction manifested by unequal access, the significant numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, uneven quality, and unconstrained wastes. The financing of healthcare is also complicated, as there is no single payer system and payment schemes vary across payors and providers.
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...