Affordable Care Act: Quantitative Versus Qualitative Methods

The Affordable Care Act, often referred to as the ObamaCare was signed into law on March 23, 2010. It has created a lot of controversy since its debut. The Healthcare reform will affect all Americans. The issue has many Americans believing it is a great thing for our country while others believe it is a terrible idea and then of course there are those who don’t know what to think. By Jan 1, 2014 Americans will be required to purchase a health care policy or will have to pay a penalty. Ready or not it’s happening. First you would have to understand the background information of the program. As with all things there are pros and cons to the Affordable Care Act. Because it is a new law it is not flawless there is room for changes and recommendations.

“The purpose of public policy is to direct problems to government and secure government’s response, while politics is the use of influence to direct the responses toward goals” (Milstead, 2013, p. 12). Policies are used as guidelines to reach a common goal. In healthcare, policies can affect and have an impact on how we provide care for our patients’. For this reason, it is important for nurses to be knowledgeable and involved in important healthcare decisions. “Knowledgeable nurses in advanced practice must demonstrate their commitment to action by being a part of relevant decisions that will ensure the delivery of quality health care by appropriate providers in a cost-effective manner” (Milstead, 2013, p. 1).

The United States does not have a universal health insurance coverage available for its citizens, therefore, there are varied obtainable coverages. Some coverages are offered through employers while others may be obtained through government programs. As of 2010, with the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, many more citizens were able to receive health insurance (Rosenbaum, 2011). Furthermore, this began the healthcare reform as it is today.

After reading the Kaiser health tracking poll in its entirety I have drawn several conclusions. First this was a comprehensive effort to provide an accurate and thorough report and poll on the nations citizens and their impressions of the Affordable Health Care Act. Secondly I was able to determine the base theme of this study. While remaining true to factual information the Kaiser study was biased towards promoting the Affordable Health Care Act. Promoting it in a way that made the reader feel like perhaps the law had not been afforded a fair shake at success. Due simply to a large number of people who had developed opinions about the Affordable Care Act without taking the time to fully understand it.

‘Over 105 million people living in America today no longer have to worry about having their health benefits cut off’ (Secretary WH) . Since enacted, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been able to provide for millions of lower and middle class Americans a secure and reasonable healthcare plan that best suits their medical needs. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) also commonly refer to as ‘Obamacare’ was a solution implemented in 2010 to help reform the precarious healthcare system in the United States. The ACA imposed three key reforms adopted from the successful Massachusetts system of healthcare. First, the ACA established a “guaranteed issue and community rating requirements” which essential barred healthcare insurances

This essay will be reviewing two articles talking about the Affordable Care Act. One article was written and posted on The American Prospect(Citation) and the other was written and posted on The American Spectator(Citation). This essay will explore the differing viewpoints and opinions of the these online publications and how they affect the articles they post.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23rd, 2010 by President Barack Obama. This radical health care law was a much-needed step in comprehensive health insurance reform. Three important features of the Affordable Care Act are 1. Improving quality and lowering health care costs 2. New consumer protections and 3. Increased access to healthcare. (Key Features. 2014). Under the umbrella of these three key features additional benefits include free preventive care, drug discounts for senior citizens, increased protection against health care fraud, small business tax credits, increased access to health care through the health insurance marketplace, consumer assistance, and non-discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.

As discussed previously, the Affordable Care Act of 2010 passed by the legislation, drastically changed the entire healthcare economy. In fact, ever since the ACA was passed it was required by law for hospitals to increase the amount of attention given to the individuals of the community in order to meet their needs. Also, the ACA allowed close to 10 million individuals to have health insurance through Medicaid and private health insurances, which has a high impact on all the hospitals, such as Yale New Haven. For example, since millions of Americans can now afford health insurance, there is a large influx of patients who can go to hospitals and are able to afford the overall cost. The non-profit hospital of Yale New Haven is benefiting in

The Affordable Care Act, also called the ACA or Obamacare, is a health care reform law in America. The Affordable Care Act is a long, complex piece of legislation that attempts to reform the healthcare system by providing more Americans with affordable quality health insurance and by curbing the growth in healthcare spending. The law includes new benefits, rights, and protections, rules for Insurance Companies, taxes, tax breaks, funding, spending, and the creation of committees, education, new job creation, and more. The ACA includes 10 titles that address reform the U.S. healthcare system. Some of the provisions include eliminating lifetime and unreasonable annual limits on benefits. It mandates that EHB (or essential health benefits) must be included on all new plans. These benefits include ambulatory services, emergency care, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse services, rehabilitative services and devices, labs, chronic disease management and oral and vision care for children. The new law prevents individuals from being dropped from their coverage for any reason other than fraud. The ACA requires coverage of preventative services and immunizations and of dependents up to the age of 26 years old. The law also provides assistance for individuals with preexisting conditions. The ACA also caps insurances companies’ non-medical and

Cheryl has been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Alcohol Use Disorder. When asked about her concerns for post discharge she states that she has been heavily reliant on her parents and their health benefits for her treatment and that she is nervous that she may not have coverage to continue therapy. She reports that she felt safe knowing that “Obamacare” would be in place to help her afford the treatment she needs to stay mentally healthy and sober. She states that she is concerned about the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act because she will need help paying for her mental health expenses. The Affordable Care Act made a giant leap in extending the work of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. These two acts work together to ensure that treatment for mental illness is accessible to many Americans that need treatment. Throughout this paper I

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has survived both constitutional and statutory challenges which reached the United States Supreme Court. But opponents of the law are far from defeated. A large number of cases are still pending throughout the country.

The fertility rate is an important factor when evaluating the health of the public. Despite the United States having one of the best healthcare systems in the world, approximately 13% of women between the age of 18 & 44 have trouble conceiving. Although the US has implemented the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a landmark policy, assisting millions of Americans in obtaining health insurance, unless altered, the policy could hurt the 3 out of 20 women who struggle with infertility. After evaluating the core essential benefits of the Affordable Care Act, the views of stakeholders, and the state mandates, an easy solution can be established to assist those suffering from impaired fecundity.

With the Advent of the Affordable Care Act, came many changes throughout the medical industry, changes happened in hospitals, health insurance, and doctors. Doctors, more than any other group seem to be affected in a number of way, from the amount of patients, from the increased number of people with insurance plans. It also changed the way a doctor interacts with other parts of medicine. There are some questions arising from this such as; would doctors approve or disapprove of these changes along with do these changes affect the doctors' ability to practice. For the most part, there is no difference the way doctors practice or to their income, but it does have doctors utilize their abilities towards medicine rather paper pushing which could have doctors prefer the post-ACA medical community rather than before.

HCA is a healthcare provider that was established in 1968. Their main focus is on offering cliental with a number of different services to include: inpatient, intensive care, outpatient, diagnostic and emergency services. To achieve these objectives they operate a variety of facilities such as: outpatient, psychiatric, surgery centers, freestanding emergency care facilities, diagnostic / imaging centers and comprehensive rehabilitation / physical therapy centers. They are structured to create increasing earnings for its policy and shareholders. This is achieved by contracting with private doctors to deliver services to its preferred providers members. At the same time, they receive fees from these entities and they negotiate lower group rates.

In this paper I will analyze the Affordable Health Care Act by first explaining the history of healthcare in this country. Second I will analyze the ACA’s effect on the economy, politics, and the social aspects of the United State. Last I will make a conclusion on whether I think the ACA was a positive for the American people.