The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the first health-care reform to pass Congress that will attempt to provide health insurance to all American citizens. It is not the first time that a health-care reform of this magnitude has been attempted. Previous attempts at health-care reform were not successful. The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was certain only at the 11th hour after much discussion and compromise between different factions within the government and private sector. President Clinton had argued during his 1992 presidential campaign that health-care reform was needed. At the time, 37 million Americans were without health insurance. He also pointed to the fact that the United States was the only modernized democracy that did not provide universal health-care coverage for its citizens. On September 22, 1993, President Clinton gave his kick-off speech to Congress on his proposed health-care reform. The reform included a mandate for employers to provide health insurance to all employees. These insurance plans would be offered through a regulated marketplace. The proposed reform was considered a great success by Democrats in Congress and in public opinion polls. However, by spring 1994 the proposed reform has been labeled as “too large, too complex, too costly, and too much government (Pfiffner).” Public opinion, which was fundamental to this legislation, had begun to shift. Although there was public consensus that the United States health-care system needed to be overhauled, there was no consensus on what needed to be done to fix it. The reform, ultimately, did not pass in Congress. Several factors were pointed to as causes for its failure. Along with the complexity... ... middle of paper ... ... References One Hundred Eleventh Congress of the United States of America. (n.d.). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Retrieved 9 12, 2013, from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr3590enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr3590enr.pdf Pfiffner, J. P. (n.d.). President Clinton's Health Care Reform Proposals of 1994. Retrieved from http://www.thepresidency.org/storage/documents/President_Clintons_Health_Care_Reform_Proposals.pdf United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). Affordable Care Act. Retrieved 9 12, 2013, from United States Department of Labor: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/ US Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Key Features of the Affordable Care Act By Year. Retrieved 9 12, 2013, from HHS.gov/HealthCare: hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/timeline/timeline-text.html Washington Post. (2010). LandMark. New York: PublicAffairs.
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US Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.) Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, By Year. Retrieved April, 26th 2011 from The Department of Health and Human Services web site: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/about/order/byyear.html
During the study of various reforms that were proposed and denied, both the GOP and Democrats attempted to find a balance that would guarantee the success of their proposals. Years of research, growing ideologies, political views and disregard for the country's constitution sparked an array of alternatives to solve the country's healthcare spending. The expenditure of US healthcare dollars was mostly due to hospital reimbursements, which constitute to 30% (Longest & Darr, 2008). During the research for alternatives, the gr...
In 2010, President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act in order to bring reform to the current healthcare system. The law was designed to provide healthcare coverage for people that did not have access to healthcare, improve the quality of the types of healthcare provided, and contain costs (HHS, 2014). Some of the features of the law are:
Welcome to the Marketplace. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
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University of Wisconsin-Maddison. (2012). What does the affordable care act do for low income families? Retrieved from www.irp.wisc.edu/.../pdfs/FF15-2012.pdf
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.
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.
As I began watching Reinventing Healthcare-A Fred Friendly Seminar (2008), I thought to myself, “man, things have changed since 2008.” And as the discussion progressed, I started to become irritated by how little had changed. The issues discussed were far-reaching, and the necessity for urgent change was a repeated theme. And yet, eight years later, health care has made changes, but many of its crucial problems still exist.
“Medicare and the New Health Care Law — What it Means for You.” (2010). Medicare Publications, http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11467.pdf
The U.S. healthcare system is very complex in structure hence it can be appraised with diverse perspectives. From one viewpoint it is described as the most unparalleled health care system in the world, what with the cutting-edge medical technology, the high quality human resources, and the constantly-modernized facilities that are symbolic of the system. This is in addition to the proliferation of innovations aimed at increasing life expectancy and enhancing the quality of life as well as diagnostic and treatment options. At the other extreme are the fair criticisms of the system as being fragmented, inefficient and costly. What are the problems with the U.S. healthcare system? These are the questions this opinion paper tries to propound.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://www.dol.gov
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ObamaCare Summary: A Summary of Obama's Health Care Reform. n.d. Web. 18 03 2014. .