Essential Health Benefits

The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the most current governmental effort to bring a national health care plan to the United States (U.S.). Policy makers in the U.S. are hopeful the ACA will be able to extend health care coverage to 47 million nonelderly uninsured citizens (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). The ACA broadens the Medicaid eligibility for low income individuals at or below the 138% Federal Poverty Line (FPL) and adds tax credits to assist people to purchase insurance in the Health Insurance Marketplace (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). In 2012, the Supreme Court the upheld the constitutionality of the ACA requiring most people to maintain a minimum level of health insurance, however they left the

The ACA is made up of a series of additions of and changes, to the multiple laws that are made up from the legal framework of the U.S. healthcare system. This act establishes the basic legal protections that have been nonexistent to the United States, will now guarantee access to affordable health insurance coverage for Americans, from when they are born, all the way through his or her retirement. The act hopes in cutting the number of uninsured Americans by more than half of the U.S. population (Rosenbaum, 2011, p.130). This law hopes to result in health insurance coverage for about 94% of the American population (Rosenbaum, 2011, p. 130). This will reduce the population of uninsured Americans by 31 million people, and increase Medicaid enrollment by 15 million recipients (Rosenbaum, 2011, p. 130). Approximately 24 million people are still expected to remain without a coverage plan. The act has several goals. For instance, one goal of the ACA is to have a close to universal coverage system, with the help and responsibility among individuals, employers, and largely, the government. The second goal is to improve the fairness, condition, and affordable prices of health insurance coverage for Americans (Rosenbaum, 2011, p. 130). Lastly, a third goal is to improve the quality of health care through value, excellence, and effectiveness while trying to reduce inefficient spending and making the healthcare system more reachable to a diverse population (Rosenbaum,

The Affordable Care Act was created to make an attempt to reduce the amount we pay for healthcare. “Healthcare premiums were too expensive for many families to afford,” is a common issue among citizens today, and we have come to the conclusion that Obamacare can help reduce that amount. Ever since this has been put in place, many Americans deny this, but it says that even if you aren’t 100 percent healthy it will still cover you, unlike regular healthcare premiums opposed that. Another benefit that is presented, it that you don’t have to have a high income or good health to be covered, the act says that it will cover you no matter what condition or state you are in.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the “Affordable Care Act” into law. Under this law all Americans have access to quality affordable health care. The main concern for many Americans about the Obama’s Health-Care plan is the fact that they will lose the freedom to choose. Choosing health-care benefits, doctors, and high deductible coverage is important to every insured American citizen, so why would Obama change that? In his speeches, Obama has promised Americans that they will be able to keep their existing health-care coverage but the proposed bills tell a different story. Both bills require that Americans buy approved plans that have a number of universal benefits or face penalties.

The Affordable Care Act otherwise known as Obamacare or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law in March 2010 and it has not been without its share of problems, debates and controversies. One of the main points of the debates and controversies with the PPACA has been the legality of the individual mandate. The individual mandate “requires that most Americans obtain and maintain health insurance, or an exemption, each month or pay a tax penalty” . The whole purpose of creating PPACA was to “achieve near-universal coverage and to do so through shared responsibility among government, individuals, and employers” and to be able to “improve the fairness, quality, and affordability of health insurance

Blumenthal, D., & Collins, S. (2014, July 17). Health Care Coverage under the Affordable Care Act — a progress report. The New England Journal of Medicine, 275-281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMhpr1405667

They are: prescription drugs, medical care or remedial care furnished by other licensed practitioners for example nurse practitioners/certified nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, physician assistants, psychology, licensed professional counselors, licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social workers, podiatry, chiropractic, optometry, including eyeglasses and contacts (Hegar). Rehabilitation and other therapies: mental health rehabilitation, rehabilitation facility services, substance use disorder treatment, physical, occupational and speech therapy (Hegar). Clinic service: maternity service clinics, hearing instrument and related audiology, and renal dialysis (

The following analysis will explore the current health insurance problem under the ACA. It will discuss the proposed policy of Medicaid Expansion and the impact of States not cooperating with the implementation of such provision. Moreover, a recommendation on strategies to alleviate the health

Probably the ACA 's most important effect is that all Americans must be covered by some minimum level of health insurance. Private insurers are no longer allowed to discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions. Also, most health insurance plans must include and cover “essential health benefits,” such as hospitalization, therapy, medication, and other types of "essential" services. Thus, most, if not all, of the health benefits a victim may require are included in the definition of “essential health benefits.”

While the Kaiser Family Foundation (2013) provides a workable summary of the general points of the Affordable Care Act and documents abound regarding services that are currently covered under the Affordable Care Act, even eligibility specialists are left puzzled about what services will be covered or requirements needed for coverage, next month, in three months, or in a year (Pattie, personal communication, 2017) given the current political environment. Historically, fragmentation of services “each functioning well within its specialized sphere, but failing to address the needs of the whole person,” (HCQA, 2015, p.3) drive up healthcare costs, especially for the patient with complex needs. Consequently, health care now talks about patient centered, integrated care based in the

The Affordable Care Act is designed to almost “force” citizens to buy one of the few standardized healthcare plans that the act offers. It does this by requiring a fee to be paid if an individual chooses not to comply. One problem with this fee is that, according to the CBO, 90% of Americans that are expected not to buy the most minimal plan will not be made to pay the fee because of the many exemptions

Once the foundation of the U.S. health care system was reviewed, we began our study of the new regulations. The Affordable Care Act contained three main provisions. The first provision was expanding Health Insurance Coverage. Elements of the regulation included offering coverage to the vast majority of currently uninsured Americans by expanding access to Medicaid to cover all non-elderly individuals below 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), and establishing state-based health insurance exchanges, which will offer Americans a range of private health plan options, with federal tax

The decision between the leaders of both the House and Senate holds the key to how much consumers would pay for coverage. The House argues that making a uniform program would help protect consumers and give them the necessary care, while the Senate wants every state to make and run its own since each state has more experience controlling the insurance plans and better knows what the people need and are looking for. In-state health insurance has helped many public areas to allow customers be aware of the risk of health care costs and offer them access to medical care which they can obtain in case they get ill or injured. Because of the importance of health insurance to the general public’s wellbeing, states have been regulating health insurance

There are Currently 32 million people without health insurance in the United States. This means that roughly 83 per cent of citizens have to live day by day hoping they won’t get sick. For this reason, President Obama signed the U.S health reform bill into law. The health reform will make health care more affordable for citizens. Employers with more than 50 employees will be forced to provide coverage for all, or they will have to pay a fine. It will also make health insures more responsible. For example, health insurance carriers are forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions, and from canceling policies because someone gets sick. It will also expand

The A single-payer national health program (NHP) has similarity to the Affordable Healthcare Act. However, it better because is addresses some of the issues that were left out of the ACA. Like, free choice of providers and the preservation of doctor–patient relationships are threatened by our current system (Gaffney, Woolhandler, Angell, & Himmeslstein, 2016). With each enrollment cycle, patients seeking affordable premiums or changing jobs must often switch insurers and risk breaking existing relationships with providers.