1. Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration: While I’m not asthmatic, I do follow continual government regulation. However, I’ve quite interested in how government regulations affect healthcare and the cost thereof for consumers. The new regulation is actually a planned amplification of previous regulations regarding clorofluorocarbon (CFC) use in metered-dose inhalers (MDI), where, as of 14 April 2010, seven more metered-dose inhalers will be phased out and replaced with hydrofloroalkanes (HFA) inhalers.
I do not expect this increased regulation to adversely affect me; however, the increased costs to consumers worries me. The affected products are especially used by lower-income individuals who must now pay
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Case in point, science has repeatedly measured and shown the damage coal and gasoline-powered emissions cause to the atmosphere; however, neither agency seeks to eliminate these energy sources, even though their effect is clear. I understand the reasons for that hypocrisy, but I’m astounded that the US government would essentially ignore those energy sources’ effects but specifically target a small number of products that actually save lives.
Additionally, these new regulations will adversely affect MDI consumers and contribute to increased costs of healthcare. Currently, no generic alternative exists for HFA MDIs, which means that all MDI consumers must pay significantly more for treating their asthma or pulmonary ailments. While this may not matter to more affluent consumers, it does to low-income and fixed-income consumers. Those are also the two market segments that draw the most from healthcare and contribute to increased healthcare costs.
I am not opposed to providing alternatives and incentivizing changes from CFC to HFA MDIs, but I do oppose arbitrarily eliminating, even phasing out, cost-effective treatments. Phasing these products out will likely contribute little to “saving the environment” but will contribute directly and quickly to rising healthcare costs for individuals and, eventually, the country.
Before the US government regulates in
As with many industries, the government is reaching out and imposing restrictions on the all-purpose cleaner industry. The U.S. government has become more stringent on labeling standards, especially when it comes
The impact this rise is going to have on heath care as well as heath insurance is very dramatic. Most health insurers, private sector employers and consumers can expect increases in insurance premiums. This includes both traditional types of insurance and managed care programs, or HMOs. Some health insurance plans may also reduce benefits to keep their plans affordable. This may include increasing cost-sharing responsibility of members and the amount members pay out of pocket for certain services, such as prescription drugs.
Most people do not know how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will affect them because the main groups of people that are affected are the uninsured population and vulnerable population. The number of vulnerable populations is increasing and if the establishment of policies and programs fail to improve the health of this population, then it will be extremely difficult to contain the cost of care in the United States (Knickman & Kovner, 2015). The goals of the ACA are to significantly
The Affordable Care Act, does it affect the average consumer financially? My paper is going to explain what the affordable care act is, why the law was passed and how the coverage works. I will explain why so many people do not like the new law. I will also tell you what will happen if you don’t get insurance as mandated by the government. It will also explain the metal tiers and how people chose the plans based on premiums and doctors. The article from Amy Anderson DNP, RN, CNE says how this new law has raised the number of uninsured, which is higher than it’s been in four decades.
As the years go on, everything around us is constantly changing and becoming more advanced. The recent election of our president has and will force us to see some very big changes in the next few months. ObamaCare also known as the Affordable Care Act was set in place by President Obama in order to reduce health care costs and give affordable health insurance to Americans. I was very skeptical about researching this because it is such a controversial topic but I chose to move forward with learning more about ObamaCare. The New Year is approaching quickly and this new healthcare system will
Insurance companies and health care providers have several methods of controlling prices and making profits. The ACA makes efforts to restrict the high costs of health care through new limits on out of pocket costs, removal of life time limits in insurance companies, and placing restrictions on denial of coverage to enrollees with preexisting conditions. The lifetime limits and high out of pocket costs are ways for insurance agencies to spend less money on their beneficiaries. By restricting access to care for those with preexisting conditions, they limit the amount they need to spend on expensive treatments for patients with conditions such as cancer and HIV which can cost companies millions of dollars. These changes will grant care to those that need it the most. In addition to controlling the cost of services provided to enrollees, there will also be changes in prices for insurance itself. The law establishes insurance exchanges that will help regulate the premiums for insurance by keeping companies and their rates
The ozone should always stay in tact to protects the earth from UV radiation, which is harmful to humans (skin cancer) and also the earth (global warming). If allowed to build up indoors, VOCs often contribute to lightheadedness, headaches, allergies and more importantly has also scientifically proven harmful to asthma sufferers. As a matter of fact, according to Professor Roy Harrison, professor of environmental health at Birmingham University, there is a body of research on VOCs in the indoor environment which links them with those kinds of symptoms - headaches and not feeling so good (news.bbc.co.uk). After proven to have negative effects on the ozone layer as well as humans, the production of CFCs was shut down and in fact it’s banned in the US. Some scientists were not convinced by the act of banning CFCs in spite of all these evidences. “Given the large economic impact of a ban — it was estimated that industries relying on CFC production generated $8 billion in business and employed 200,000 people in 1974 — several scientists in the field advocated waiting a few years for science to make more progress on the issue before making any policy decisions.” (bio.sunyorange.edu)
But will prices fall? The reform does not provide new leverage to lower prices and nor does it remove barriers to price negotiation for some Medicare plans. At best, insurers may use comparative effectiveness studies from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to encourage more appropriate treatments. But without further change, the prices of new and highly specialized drugs will likely rise, especially
One of the most tangible benefits of the Affordable Care Act is that costs associated with procuring healthcare should significantly decrease. This projection is largely due to the act's ramifications throughout the health care insurance industry. Currently, insurance companies substantially increase the rates for health insurance for patients who have previously existing medical conditions. Under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act, this practice
The way that innovation is sought after is a prominent player in the way that policy is shaped with regards to the environment. An increase in funds for the improvement of existing technology for burning fossil fuels can be viewed in complete contrast to the increase in funds to develop new solar panel technology to decrease the United States dependence on oil and gas. As is the case with many issues in the US government the approach to this seems to fall in to two distinct categories – republican or democrat. Examples come from the Presidency of George Bush and in 2001 President Bush announced the development of “FutureGen” this was a policy that was aimed at the capture and sequestration of CO2 emissions. The aim of FutureGen was to improve
Improved air quality wasn’t a subject of national concern until the mid 1900s. After decades of coal burning, unregulated gas emissions from cars and the excessive burning of fossil fuels, people started noticing bad air quality as a hazard to their lives. Over several decades, after seeing the costly effects air pollution was having on the environment and people’s health, interest groups like the Friends of The Earth club and the influences of Theodore Roosevelt and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring finally came together to persuade the government to enforce legislation that would reduce air pollution. Because of these efforts, the policies of the Clean Air Act of 1963 and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Act of 1965, that aimed to control air pollution and raise air quality standards, helped create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 2, 1970. Since then, the EPA has passed more air quality improvement acts, and amendments to previous acts passed, to increase restrictions on air pollutants, with their main policy concern being the Clean Air Act. Improved air quality acts imposed by the EPA have been successful in cleaning the United States’ air quality by reducing ground-level ozone pollution and reducing emissions, allowing for a decrease in pollution related deaths/illnesses and a better standard of living. The EPA, through regulations and the Clean Air Act, has delivered it’s promise to improve air quality in the United States.
Big nations like Australia and the US who are responsible for most of the world’s pollution chose to ignore this evidence.
The price of health care is a concern for both the consumer and the provider. Consumers frequently worry about being able to afford medical care while the physician concern is whether or not they will receive reimbursement for the treatment they provide their patients. In the past insurance companies had the option to decline coverage or charge an excessive premium for those people with pre-existing conditions. One of the benefits for consumers under the Affordable Care Act is to provide coverage regardless of any pre-existing ailment and at a reasonable cost. In the case of pre-existing conditions consumer and provider incentives working together, there will be no limits on benefits which allow the patient to get the continuous care that they
For years upon years companies have wormed their way into the minds of Americans to consume. The companies mask all of the real problems. Many logging companies associated with larger corporations have failed to make Americans aware of the pollution and the increase in toxic gases and waste that is being dispersed every where. All that matters to them is the flow of money that the businesses are
The Constitution states that it is designed, “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries” (The Constitution). Simplified, this means that the government has the responsibility to promote the progress of science, such as discoveries about energy sources and preserving the environment. There are Supreme Court cases discussing whaling and emissions that are very similar to the topic of eliminating the use of fossil fuels. In a whaling case in late 2008, for example, the final ruling was that navy submarines can continue using sonar waves underwater, despite the harm these waves bring to underwater mammals (Top US Court). Environmentalists fought hard to make a law preventing these ships from using these harmful signals but were overruled by the “needs of the Navy to respond to threats” (Top US Court). This case is similar to energy sources because the harmful waves, like fossil fuels which are also damaging, are being permitted, just like fossil fuels are allowed today. Another case regarding concerns similar to renewable resources is the case on car emissions and whether they should be legal or not. Previously, the Environmental Protection Agency decided that regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from cars was not needed (US Supreme Court). However, in 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that this decision was “not in accordance with the law” (US