Affordable Care Act ( Aca )

As you know my situation is messy here in Texas. As a single, young male I do not qualify for Medicaid and with the ACA expansion more people are qualifying for Medicaid depending on their state. Sadly, that is not the case for me. I live in the state of Texas which is one of nearly 20 states yet to expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and is home to the largest number of uninsured Americans of any state in the country. I do not meet the Medicaid requirements in Texas, available only to people with disabilities who have incomes below 75 percent of the federal poverty level; pregnant women with incomes less than 200 percent of poverty; and parents with incomes less than 19 percent of poverty. I will continue to be uninsured and as a freelance construction worker I should have coverage in case of a mishap at work. Therefore, I strongly support the idea of adding a public option to the U.S healthcare system for individuals like myself that do not qualify for Medicaid and do not have the financial means to buy health insurance on the private market.

One of the primary goals of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to provide affordable health care coverage and increase access to affordable health care to the community. Unfortunately, since the passage of the ACA, while there has been an increase in the number of people with health care coverage, those same people do not necessarily have access to affordable health care. Currently, the public views the Emergency Department (ED) as a safety net by the community it serves; as demonstrated by the increasing number of people who continue to seek treatment in the ED for non-urgent problems. Utilization of the ED for non-urgent care contributes to the rising costs of healthcare as treatment in this setting can be upwards of three times the cost

On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act which is an Obamacare, is the United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) experienced many challenges, debates, and objections until the Supreme Court rendered a final decision on individual mandate healthcare insurance to uphold the health care law on June 28, 2012. The mandate healthcare insurance for workers by employers’ obligation through a regulated marketplace of health maintenance organizations was proposed by President Bill Clinton proposed a healthcare reform bill in 1993, comparing, healthcare insurance would have required by individuals but not employers were proposed by Republican. In the result, the Clinton plan failed amid an unprecedented barrage of negative advertising funded by politically conservative groups. Republican alternative which was the Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act contained a "universal coverage" requirement with a penalty for noncompliance—an individual mandate—as well as subsidies to be used in a state in 1993.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 under the Obama Administration to make health coverage available to more Americans. According to Thomas Berg, a social researcher and law professor at St. Thomas University, It would have brought greater demand for health services. The increased number of health professions needed to provide those services would have motivated a younger generation to pursue a career in the medical field. The act would have raised the standard of living in America. Unfortunately a clause was added to the ACA in August of 2011 that would mandate the coverage of “Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity” be included all insurance policies (Berg). The mandate would not have been enacted until August of 2012, but religious groups came out in opposition immediately when news of the clause was released. The Catholic Church was one of the prominent advocates against the enactment of the mandate as contraceptive and sterilization methods are against their moral teachings. The government was forcing the coverage despite the objections of those wishing to practice their conservative faiths freely. The mandate stands as an intrusion of religious liberties and an attack on personal values.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in March, 2010. The purpose of this law is to reform public and private health insurance systems resulting in expanded coverage for millions of Americans by the year 2023. Full implementation of the Act, will result in a reduction of the number of uninsured U.S. citizens by more than one-half (Rosenbaum, 2011). The ACA “expands Medicaid eligibility to include all individuals and families with incomes up to 133 percent of the poverty level” (Riggin, 2013).

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) introduced the transformation of the United States healthcare system. The purpose of the ACA was to improve access to health care services for all Americans through insurance system reform. The objective was to deliver medical coverage to low income individuals through Medicaid however, the poorest uninsured consumers were not integrated in the income recommendations for participation (Carpenter, 2012, p. 27).

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or what many are calling “Obama Care” is a US law that reforms both healthcare and health insurance industries in America by increasing the quality, availability, and affordability of private and public health insurance to uninsured Americans. It does this through many provisions including; new regulations, taxes, mandates, and subsidies. In addition, expanded Medicaid to millions in states that chose to expand the program (including Minnesota) and is working to curb healthcare spending in the US.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has dramatically increased insurance coverage and protections for women. However, thousands of women still face barriers to care due to a lack of oversight of health plan provider networks. Often times, health plans advertise that they have an abundance of providers, but many of those providers are not easily accessible due to far distances, delayed appointment availability, inability to accept new patients, or no longer accepting the insurers plan. Because we live in a digital age, finding providers can be effortlessly completed with the click of a button. However, the problem starts with the insurance companies’ websites, where consumers can search for an insurance plan and find providers and hospitals.

The introduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) changed the incentives involved in the healthcare delivery system by shifting financial risk to providers in reimbursement methods such as capitation. Healthcare organizations with large Medicaid populations face multiple battles based on this principle. The increasing battle to stay financially viable in a world of decreasing reimbursements is arguably the most important. This issue has faced every organization since the ACA was introduced. Organizations face a complex task of improving their continuity of care to improve their population health while controlling their costs. This especially is a daunting issue in non-profit organizations that serve large unhealthy populations.

Marketplace Exchange has several names that it’s known, for example; The Obama Care Health Insurance Exchanges, or Obama Care Exchanges, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which are to bring a variety of private health care providers together to compete with each other to find clients to subscribe to future clients either by online, or person to person.. Some states have their own form of “Affordable Care Act (ACA)” Insurance on this site as well. The main objective for the Exchanges determine which insurance companies are accountable. After such investigation the Exchange will allow them to participate, they are mediated to make sure, that everyone is able to obtain Health Coverage, no matter what their former health issues or financial status if they live here in the United States of America and are legal residents they are entitled.

Forecasting is an important tool to help healthcare managers prepare for the challenges associated with rising health care costs. As the healthcare landscape continues to change, managers look at the past and present to predict the future. The U.S. government is major provider of health insurance for the elderly and disable persons. The government’s portion for covering healthcare costs has risen steadily, from 43% in 1980 and 38% in 1970 (Miller & Washington, 2006 p. 40). Medicare is the single largest source of payment for beneficiary health care costs; it covers about half of the cost of health care (Healthcare Financing Administration, 2006). The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which also provides medical coverage to low income persons, must also be factored into the cause and effect analysis. As a result of the changing landscape of health insurance, healthcare managers rely of analytical forecasting to predict future healthcare costs, examine cause and effect relationships and prepare their organization to provide quality affordable care to their patients.

“We will be moving further away from humanity-based health care and more towards the patient as a commodity. This was not the way my father practiced—nor will I.” This quote, from a surgeon in Michigan, was only one of many quotes gathered by The Doctors Company, which is the largest insurer of physician and surgeon medical liability in the nation, when they asked over 5,100 doctors about their thoughts on different aspects of Health Care Reform. American health care reform is something that was nearly seventy-five years in the making; since Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. presidents have struggled to enact health care reform, and most failed (Health Affairs). In September of 2009, President Barrack Obama addressed Congress with his proposed solution, it was called The Affordable Care Act (ACA). In this Act, Obama attempted to address a need most every American desired: to keep health insurance companies accountable for their customers’ health by preventing the companies from dropping someone from their plan, or denying their policyholders health insurance coverage if they had a pre-existing medical condition. The ACA also implemented an individual mandate which required almost all U.S. citizens and legal residents of America to carry health insurance coverage, or they would be subject to a fine.

Even though the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and it spends far more per person on health care than any other nation, its people are not the healthiest. The U.S. spends over $2.5 trillion per year on health care (Cummings, 2015). Currently, the US government funds two types of health plans: Medicare and Medicaid. These are intended to help the elderly, disabled, poor, and young. These programs help those who are unable to pay for health insurance and cover expenses that may not be covered by their own insurance. The disadvantage of having Medicare or Medicaid is that not all doctors accept this insurance and it has been linked with receiving substandard care by those caregivers who do accept them. The basic Medicare policy is often not enough coverage as it only covers about 64% of a person’s health care costs (“What is the Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid?,”2016) . It does not cover deductibles, co-pays, and additional insurance (“What is the Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid?,” 2016). In 2014, the ACA was implemented. This lowered the number of people who did not have health insurance. Under the ACA, individuals can shop for new health insurance plans on exchanges, or health insurance marketplaces, so as to find the best plan for them both financially and one that meets their overall health needs (Cummings, 2015).

Our poor healthcare is not the only characteristic that sets America apart from other industrialized nations; our healthcare system also does. Despite our increasing wealth and presence in the global economy, as a recent Institute of Medicine report clearly states,“the United States is among the few industrialized nations in the world that does not guarantee access to healthcare for its population”. Our healthcare system has left 26% of the population, or 45

Over the past few decades, health care industry in the United States is facing three major problems related to quality, costs, and access. The healthcare expenditure in the United States has increased drastically over the years and the United States still rank top in health care spending when compared to other top nations in the world. Despite having high healthcare expenditure, Americans have limited access to health care, spends higher costs for the procedures and getting poor health care outcomes. In a recent study conducted by commonwealth fund, it estimates that the United States health care funding is approximately two times higher than top 13 nations in the world. [1] This report also concludes that despite having high health care expenditure, health care costs in the United States are very expensive and outcomes are worst when compared to other nations, which spends less gross domestic product on healthcare. To address these limitations in health care industry in United States, on March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the patient protection and affordable care act into law. [2]