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. Under the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, insurance companies are no longer allowed to discriminate against individuals with pre-existing health conditions. Uninsured children with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, are now able to access health insurance plans. Not only are insurance companies now unable to reject health insurance plans for children hampered with pre-existing conditions, it is no longer legal for insurers to deny coverage to adults based on their medical history. Before Congress had passed this law, insurance companies were able to charge different prices for health insurance based on the gender or health status of an individual. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as of 2014, made it possible for every citizen to achieve health coverage, regardless of any previous medical condition (WebMD). ObamaCare has also outlawed annual and lifetime limits that were often used by insurance companies as justification for... ... middle of paper ... ...3/09/23/not-affordable-care-act-avik-roy-editorials-debates/2858175/>. "Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration." New National Strategy Paves Way for Reducing Suicide Deaths. Substances Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. . Walsh, Michael. "U.S. Vets Commit Suicide at Alarming Rate: VA Study." NY Daily News. NY Daily News, 2 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. . Walton, Alice G. "Why More Americans Suffer From Mental Disorders Than Anyone Else." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 04 Oct. 2011. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .
"Suicide in the U.S.: Statistics and Prevention." NIMH RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in 2010 and was designed to insure millions of people, who did not have health insurance, reduce out-of-pocket expenses for families and reduce costs for small businesses. In essences, when enrollment opens in 2013, the ACA law will target the 42 million Americans that according to a Census Bureau Survey are uninsured (Klein, 2014). Indeed, Obama Care from a utilitarian point of view is a huge improvement in medical services to a larger proportion of the population, that prior to this law did not have insurance available to them, including improved availability of health care services and reigning in out of control insurance companies.
The Affordable Care Act introduced a plan that would allow Americans with pre-existing conditions to obtain health insurance without the hassle of being turned down or fear of being charged higher premiums. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan was effective as of July 1, 2010. It allowed patient access to affordable healthcare in which they were previously denied due to their pre-existing condition (Affordable Care Act Summary, n.d.). Patients were required to be uninsured for at least six months before they obtained this form of health insurance. In January 2014, the PCIP plans no longer exist due to funding issues so Amer...
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.
Whether we are in favor or opposed to the Affordable Care Act, it is important that we consider how it affects us and the world surrounding us. First of all, I find useful to mention what the Affordable Care Act (also known as ObamaCare) is and how it differs from any other healthcare acts. The Affordable Care Act provides Americans with health security by putting in place health insurance reforms that are supposed to expand coverage, hold insurance companies accountable, guarantee more choices to choose from, lower healthcare costs, and eventually enhance the quality of care for all Americans. It differs from other healthcare insurances because patients with pre-existing conditions can now be eligible to receive treatment and prevention of further illness.
Ghosh, C. (2013). Affordable Care Act: Strategies to Tame the Future. Physician Executive, 39(6), 68-70.
Affordable Care Act proclaims to put citizens back in charge of their health ("U.s. department of,"). It puts an end to pre-existing condition exclusions for children. This is a positive benefit because children can no longer be denied or limited insurance due to a pre-existing condition, such as cancer, diabetes, asthma, or cardiac conditions. This will prevent millions of children from being refused insurance when they need it the most. It enables young adults to stay covered longer under their parent’s plans until the age of 26 under certain circumstances. Young adults go off to college, and sadly don’t always feel that insurance is a priority on their limited budgets. This gives them time to finish school while riding on their parents plans to keep them healthy during the college years at a reasonable cost to the parents, which comes with a side of peace of mind that your grown child will have their health taken care of.
In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicid...
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...
Politico discusses, ObamaCare differs from the previous health coverage in many ways. First, ObamaCare now accepts any American no matter if they have a pre-existing condition. Before ObamaCare if a Citizen did have a pre-existing condition, health insurance companies would either reject the person or increase the price of their health coverage extensively. ObamaCare makes it possible to provide affordable health insurance to those with pre-existing conditions. Second, ObamaCare has new coverage rules for applying. A citizen can only apply for Health coverage under ObamaCare during an “Open Enrollment Period”. The Enrollment Periods usually last about a month but if you miss that period you will have to wait 6 months before the next enrollment period...
Obamacare is a healthcare program developed in the United States and introduced to Congress in September of 2009 with a goal of creating affordable health insurance for all or most Americans. One of the main points was to reduce health care spending within the United States and expand the availability of private and public health insurance. Although it does not control individuals’ health care, it offers numerous protections for American citizens, some of which include; permitting adults to stay covered on their health insurance plans until the age of twenty-six, prevent insurance agencies from misconduct and releasing clients who are ill, as well as doing away with limits which include annual and lifetime options (Obamacare Facts). In addition to requiring insurance companies to cover people with preexisting illnesses it also provides essential health benefits such as the right to emergency care, hospitalization, counseling and screenings for potential illnesses (Obamacare Facts).
One of Obamacare's main selling points during the health care reform debate was the need to establish insurance coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. Beginning 2014, Obamacare will implement a policy called "guaranteed issue" which prohibits insurance providers from excluding individuals with pre-existing medical conditions from coverage (Senger, 2013). Because this may cause incentive for people to wait until they become ill to perchance purchase insurance, Obamacare includes the "disliked individual" mandate which forces all Americans to purchase health insurance or face a penalty. Considering 1 out of every 2 Americans have a health condition that qualifies as a pre-existing condition, Obamacare doing away with pre-existing conditions is a huge deal.
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.
In March 2010, under the Obama administration, the United States enacted major health-care reform. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 expands coverage to the majority of uninsured Americans, through: (a) subsidies aimed at lower-income individuals and families to purchase coverage, (b) a mandate that most Americans obtain insurance or face a penalty,