Analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

Although America has one of the most sophisticated healthcare systems in the world, health coverage for all as not been achieved. William et al. (2015) explain, "with the enactment of the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act of 2010-would reduce the proportion of uninsured people to about 6 percent of the U.S. population"(455). However, more health coverage for the population does not mean the nation is a healthy one. Although improving healthcare access is essential, William et al.

The US has recently adopted a healthcare policy aimed to get more Americans insured. This policy is named the Affordable Care Act in 2010. “In 2013 there were 42 million uninsured individuals in the United States. “(The Common, pg. 153) There has since been increase in individuals who are covered either by private insurance or by Medicaid/Medicare which had a coverage increase with the new policy. It is believed that millions of people will now have health insurance compared to previous years.

Healthcare reform has become an important issue with many Americans since the passage of the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act in 2010. It took years of fighting and refining the bill before it became law, and it represents the lasting legacy of the Obama administration. The Act will allow millions of Americans who were previously uninsured to gain coverage through expanded Medicaid and Medicare programs or through federal or state insurance exchanges. Although the idea of providing healthcare to those who need it but can’t afford it is a noble one, one major question remains. Who will pay for the increase costs associated with expanding coverage? Health insurance is predicated on the spreading of risk. The young and healthy are used to subsidize the cost associated with the care of the old and unhealthy. Congress attempted to address this by placing within the Affordable Care Act a provision which imposes a “tax” of one percent of taxable income on any American who chose not to purchase insurance coverage with the tax increasing every year up to 2.5% for every year they go without coverage. Despite this provision many young Americans are opting out of health coverage and instead will pay the tax. Younger people are making this choice because the tax they pay will ultimately cost them less than a year’s worth of coverage. Not having the younger population covering the costs of the unhealthy could lead to a “death spiral” because private insurance companies are

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a legislation designed to extend coverage to the uninsured, eliminate practices that include rescission and denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and lower health care costs. Moreover, the PPACA provides incentives to businesses to offer health insurance or impose penalties on business that do not provide coverage, and require individuals without health insurance to purchase reasonably priced polices through health insurance exchanges (Martocchio, 2014, p. 143). This health reform legislation was taken into effect in 2010, and is expected to complete implementation over the next few years.

The number of Americans without health insurance is still high enough that the negative consequences outlined above pose a significant threat to many people. As of January 2015, the percentage of uninsured Americans stood at 12.9% of the total population (Levy, 2015). Although this may seem like a low number, this statistic indicates that there are tens of millions of people in the U.S. who are susceptible to the risks of dying at the hands of something that could have been prevented with coverage. Thus, the uninsured rate is still high enough to warrant concern from policy makers and should serve as a call to action to work towards getting as many Americans as possible covered.

When Obamacare was taken into effect, a significant change allowed those with pre-existing health conditions, to now be covered by health insurance. Prior to this, many people with these conditions were unable to receive the coverage they needed in order to get the proper treatment. However, this changed with the ACA. Insurance companies are now forbidden from charging buyers too much, terminating coverage, or rejecting individuals with pre-existing conditions. Though this is a positive for several people suffering from illnesses that were previously denied treatment, adding this provision to the ACA also meant increasing premiums. Since health insurance companies could not offset the costs of taking on the population with pre-existing conditions by collecting from

The Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as the ACA or Obamacare, is a topic of great controversy amongst Americans. The ACA has made changes in every aspect of health care in one fell swoop. Insurers, health care providers, medical equipment suppliers, small businesses and the insured people of America were all affected by the passing of this act. With these changes there are many new advantages to health care that are for the common good. For example, Obamacare has made it so that insurance companies can no longer deny individuals with pre-existing conditions, contraception is free, preventative care screenings come at no cost to the insured regardless of the insurance plan, and there is a cap to what they can make you pay out of pocket in deductible plans. These alterations to health care laws are headed in the right direction, but there are two sides to this coin. With great change, comes great cost and there will be many financial side effects that come from this reform.

The title of the article found in the latest releases of the Kaiser Family Foundation website is Ten Ways That the House American Health Care Act Could Affect Women. This article breaks down the new American Health Care Act (AHCA) and compares it to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), with a special emphasis on the impact on women. The ten points discussed in the article are as follows: “Medicaid eligibility, capping federal Medicaid and Planned Parenthood, abortion coverage, tax credits, premium and cost-sharing subsidies, insurance reforms, essential health benefits, preventative services, contraceptive coverage, and lastly, pregnancy-related care,” (Ranji, Salganicoff, Sobel, & Rosenzweig, 2017).

Employers have seen an increase in number of members due do the coverage for children up to 26 years old. There has been the removal of lifetime limits and restrictions on annual spending have been removed, which causes companies to pay more for employees requiring expensive and chronic coverage (Spivak, 2014). After the passing of the ACA, there is no requirement for employers to provide health benefits to their workers, but certain large employers may have a penalty if there is no affordable coverage available. There will be a penalty for employers that does not offer coverage or doesn't meet the minimum value and affordability standards. Companies that have at least 50 full time employees could be affected by these penalties (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2018). Companies that have less than 50 full time employees could have a hard time finding a company insurance due to affordability. Insurance companies and employers must come to a decision about new plans that could benefit everyone. Employers and employees may have to pay higher premiums due to expanded coverage. All health insurance plans must cover the 10 essential benefits, which helps with prevention and covering care. The ACA has created an individual mandate, which ordered everyone to obtain health insurance where another penalty could take

outcomes and prevention must be developed and proposed as viable alternatives to current care systems to address some of the current problems. There is also the need to strengthen the primary care due to changing systems of health-care delivery and rapidly emerging advances in diabetes treatment. The patient-centered Medical Home Model has been proposed as a practical solution to access, and quality issues surrounding primary care. Another proposed intervention is that practice change is essential to provide the type of evidence based care recommended by these models, to effectively manage diabetes.

Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies cannot refuse anyone coverage or charge a higher amount for any health problems that existed before a new health coverage plan begins. However, with the Republican agenda to “repeal and replace” Obamacare, coverage for pre-existing conditions could be on the chopping block. The proposed Graham-Cassidy Health Care Bill gives flexibility to the states to design their own health care systems. With this, states could waive the provision that caps how much insurance companies can charge; thus, they could charge those with pre-existing conditions more (Collins, 2017). Furthermore, this plan would also allow states to waive certain essential health benefits covered

My actions as a healthcare manager conducting strategic planning right now and planning ahead for the next 3 years pertaining to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would depend on the state of my current clinic. There are three main key elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, “(1) to reform the private insurance market—especially for individuals and small-group purchasers, (2) to expand Medicaid to the working poor with income up to 133% of the federal poverty level, and (3) to change the way that medical decisions are made.” (Silvers, 2013)

According to this article, access to healthcare services has been a major issue in the United States since 1967. The country has experienced the implementation of various healthcare policies with the aim of improving the quality of care provided to the older population. One of these policies includes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Its primary objective was to remove disparities experienced in accessing care due to the financial burden. Despite the fact that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to ensure healthcare access by a majority of the population, this article notes that there are other consequences that would undermine its benefits. For instance, the article notes that the policy’s major attention is

In the past, 26 year olds were rarely on their parents’ health insurance plans. Currently, more and more young adults are relying on their parents’ insurance due to the chronic illnesses, employment, and the economy. The ACA allows young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until December 31st of the year they turn 26, which I believe should remain intact.9 Young adults are the highest rate of uninsured out of all the other age groups with 1 in every 5 uninsured.10 3.1 million young adults have access to health insurance since March 2010, because of the ACA. Before the ACA, children were taken out of their parents’ plan at 19 years old or older if they were full-time students.9 The need for this aspect comes with chronic illnesses present in 1 in every 6 young adults.10 Additionally, “just 43.7% of all 18- to 24-year-olds and 55.7% of 25- to 34-year-olds were covered by an employer-sponsored plan in 2009, both significantly lower than a decade earlier,” according to a 2011 report by Demos and Young Invincibles.9 The ACA bridges this gap and helps those who are underemployed and younger than 26 have the coverage they need. In general, there is no promise of a full-time job with health benefits on or before a person’s 26th birthday. This is why it is important to have this aspect. Furthermore, “the extension came at a time that it was particularly needed because young people were hit particularly hard by the recession,” says Jen Mishory, a deputy director of Young Invincibles.9 If a young adult has employment, it usually comes without access to employer-sponsored health insurance. Many young adults also work for a small business, are contract employees, or want to be entrepreneurs. Without

The United States is the only developed country that does not cover its citizen’s health coverage. In 2010, it is estimated that 50 million people are uninsured and other 30 million people are underinsured. Health care providers charge high prices to insurance companies and these prices are compensated through increased premiums. The health care services are unaffordable for most people.