Assignment #4

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School

University of Colorado, Colorado Springs *

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3268

Subject

Medicine

Date

Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by CommodoreFieldStarling29

1. What does health care coverage have to do with social justice? There are a number of inequalities towards ethnic groups when it comes to healthcare coverage and the cost of health care. There is also the issue of low-income families who can’t afford healthcare or insurance to cover their medical bills. The people who end up not having any insurance coverage have to pay out of pocket for their bills, which is extremely expensive. These people tend to not seek medical attention or help as a result because they can’t afford to pay medical bills and end up being severely ill without any treatment as a response. Since there is a discrepancy between insured and uninsured individuals, it becomes a social justice problem of trying to help provide adequate healthcare for those who are in need of it and providing care for anyone, including ethnic groups and low-income families. Since the early 2000s, the amount of uninsured people is still rising; a majority of the people who make up the numbers of uninsured individuals are those of an ethnic group ( Jimenez, J., Pasztor, E. M., Chambers, R. M., & Fujii, C. P. 2014) . There are millions of Americans who are uninsured, which is a problem that needs to be addressed and resolved. While there have been various policies to try and aid those who need it, ACA, there are many flaws within these policies that need to be changed in order to make these policies have a higher success rate. 2. Affordable Care Act (ACA) (address the framework questions below - each section should have 2-6 sentences) What is the problem to be solved by the ACA? What is the actual problem (be very specific and detailed)? Who is affected by it? For how long has this been a social problem? Is it a local, state, or national issue? Why does it need to be addressed? (This is your thesis statement -- your position!) The ACA focuses on proper healthcare insurance coverage, the cost of health care, and preventive care for the uninsured population. The problem that is being solved is providing adequate coverage for those who are uninsured and are in need of health care coverage for their lives. Those who are the most benefit towards the ACA are those from low-income families and various ethnic groups. This is a national issue across the United States as millions are in need of healthcare coverage. This needs to be addressed since there are various factors as to why someone becomes uninsured. This could be from losing a job and losing the benefits that come with it, being in a low- income family who can’t afford the rates of healthcare insurance, or discrimination towards someone’s ethnicity plays a part in not getting the proper healthcare that they need. What are the objectives of this law? There are 3 objectives that come towards the Affordable Care Act: affordable health insurance for more individuals, expanding Medicaid for those who are in low income households, and providing more efficient medical care at lower costs than general/normal healthcare programs (Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA),

2022). Overall, the main focus of the Affordable Care Act is trying to provide the utmost medical care and insurance to low-income families and trying to aid as many individuals as possible. What were the intended and unintended effects of the policy? Intended (Positive) effects: More money is going back to families who are in need of it and in turn also helps bring down the levels of unemployment. The most obvious intended effect was the improvement of health for families who are utilizing the Affordable Care Act, which in turn creates more productivity from the workers who are in better health ( Six Economic Benefits of the Affordable Care Act , 2014). Unintended (Negative) effects: One of the unintended effects of the ACA was the increase in taxes for citizens. There was an increase of taxes on medical devices and medication, along with an increase of taxes for those who had a higher income. Another unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act was businesses began cutting employee hours in order to not have to cover their healthcare expenses. The ACA was not concerned nor could predict that businesses would find loopholes in order to not have to pay extra/cover those who are in need of these benefits (Roland, 2019). Did the ACA change the distribution of any existing services, rights, or statuses? The ACA did change how healthcare and its coverage did help provide more widespread help towards more Americans and changed how medicine is administered to all Americans, regardless of their income. While it did not solve all problems that it wanted to address, it is making strides to do so. There is still the pressing issue of making sure healthcare is affordable and accessible to all individuals. Some of the deductibles are still too high for some individuals to afford, along with the discrimination towards some ethnic groups still occuring within the ACA. Along with the implementation of the ACA, it changed how Medicare and Medicaid are also being used for other people. It helped expand the reach of Medicare to more adults in the United States (Ercia, 2021). What changes or alternative policies would you apply to the ACA to better serve social justice principles? The first change that should be made to the ACA would be fixing the issue of proper healthcare reach to all individuals who are in need of proper healthcare coverage. One of the major issues with the ACA is that even though it is helping many individuals receive healthcare, some of them are still experiencing barriers that are preventing them from being able to access it. These barriers include high deductibles and premium costs, along with providers not allowing it. If there is a way to solve this barrier by making the ACA become provided by these networks and companies, then it will help reach more individuals who are in need ( Ercia, 2021). Another way to resolve the money problem is possibly creating a payment plan for those who can’t afford to pay the entire deductible out of pocket at that time and moment. Being able to set up a way to pay small amounts per month with a flexible budget might help those be able to access and use the help that the ACA provides for many other individuals. While there are numerous other

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