When President Obama was elected to office, he had campaigned on the promise of healthcare reform, and was rallying the government to deliver on that promise. Despite successes in increasing coverage for certain populations in the 1980’s and 1990’s, there was no substantial and sustainable reduction in the number of uninsured. In a speech during a joint session of Congress (2009), and before the signing of the ACA, Obama argued that a high uninsured rate had an impact on the American people, the healthcare system, and the economy. The symptoms of the 1/7 Americans without uninsured in 2008 were: negative impacts on citizens, manifesting in greater financial insecurity, unreasonable barriers to care, general poor health, and preventable deaths; the healthcare system was burdened with billions of dollars in uncompensated care; the labor force became concerned about insurance coverage when seeking education or entrepreneurship. healthcare costs were rising rapidly, from 13% of the economy devoted to
Health care reform in the United States is a hot topic and the source of legislation meant to make health care obtainable to Americans. Recent presidential elections have been platforms used to promote health care reform yet no one can agree on what the resolution will be. This paper will discuss ways recent health care reform measures have expanded or inhibited access to health care. This paper will discuss how changes to access may lead to influences in utilization. Concepts of what universal health care may be and how current care reflects or contrasts
Without our health, we have nothing. Money, friends and family, happiness--all are afterthoughts without our health. As such, both as individuals and as a society, maintaining our health must be an indispensable priority. Despite the many faults of our healthcare system, Americans realize this. Healthcare is undoubtedly a major concern in the United States. The recent implementation of the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as “Obamacare,” the heated debates on healthcare across the nation, and the over one trillion dollars spent per year by the government on healthcare, all show our prioritization of health ("Federal Spending: Where Does the Money Go"). Furthermore, a strong majority of
Healthcare costs in the United States have been rising for several years and show no sign of stopping. In 2008, the United States spent on 2.3 trillion on healthcare, more than three times the $714 billion spent in 1990, and over eight times the $253 billion spent in 19801. Although the large amount of money invested in healthcare does translate to better care for Americans, the worsening economic situation, rising costs, and federal government’s deficit have placed a great strain on the system. This includes private employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a private and non-profit healthcare analysis organization, “in 2008, U.S. health care spending was about $7,681 per resident and accounted for 16.2% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP); this is among the highest of all industrialized countries”1. Concerns for the enormous strain on the financial systems that fund healthcare and the desperate need to provide adequate healthcare for Americans have driven many a President since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, to seek some type of healthcare reform and universal healthcare for all Americans. President Barack Obama succeeded where many had failed and on March 23, 2010, a national health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law. On March 31, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new rules
As more provisions of the affordable care act continue to be implemented many find controversy ineffectiveness of the new health plan. On an annual basis the correlation seems to grow more positive on one end, and more negative on the other. Since the start of (2014), the approval percentage of the Affordable Care Act has increased from 10% to 16%, while the percentage saying it has hurt them has also gone up, and by a similar amount, from 19% to 27% (Riffkin, 2014). Overall 41% Americans approve of the affordable care act in comparison to 53% of Americans that disapprove. The complexity of the changes really affects populations differently based on their income levels. The 2010 Affordable Health Care Act passed through congress has
In 2008, during President Obama’s campaign, President Obama announced that he would fight for a national health care system that helped millions of uninsured Americans obtain health insurance. The Affordable Care Act, also termed Obamacare, passed on Christmas Eve of 2009. While some people believe the Affordable Care Act is great, others are not too fond of the of it. From passing the bill, the government hoped to expand Medicaid eligibility to help more people whose income was meager or near poverty level. Although the idea was good, studies show that people of color, families in rural areas, and those with cultural and language barriers struggle to receive health care and pay for it. Furthermore, since Obamacare passed into law, the
On March 23, 2010 President Barack Obama introduced a new healthcare system because various Congress representatives and Obama believed our country needed a change. This new healthcare system was called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare. It is now 2016, and it is time for more changes. With a new president coming into office, Donald Trump, we can expect changes to Obamacare or an entirely new healthcare system altogether. Obamacare is costing Americans more than it was intended to (Galen Institute). This essay will explain why Obamacare needs to be improved and how to improve this healthcare system. Obamacare has two types of supporters. The first type of supporters believe there is nothing that can be done to make this healthcare system better, while the second type think there should be changes to reinforce this health care system. Opponents believe Obamacare needs to be changed or ended altogether because they claim it is not helping the American citizens. Going forward, Trump should make changes to Obamacare in order to make it stronger instead of scrapping it altogether.
U.S. health care reform is currently one of the most heavily discussed topics in health discourse and politics. After former President Clinton’s failed attempt at health care reform in the mid-1990s, the Bush administration showed no serious efforts at achieving universal health coverage for the millions of uninsured Americans. With Barack Obama as the current U.S. President, health care reform is once again a top priority. President Obama has made a promise to “provide affordable, comprehensive, and portable health coverage for all Americans…” by the end of his first term (Barackobama.com). The heated debate between the two major political parties over health care reform revolves around how to pay for it and more importantly, whether it
Barack Obama was elected on November 4, 2008 to be the president of the United States. As he is the president, he implied many new suggestions in the United States, for example, the Affordable Care Act or The Patient Protection also known as Obamacare. The health care reform also known as The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or simply Obamacare became one of the most ambitious projects in the history of the United States since the mid-1960’s.1 This is the first attempt to reform the U.S. Health Care system of the United States since the 1960s, when the President Johnson created public Medicare and Medicaid, to help pensioners and the poor. The current reform was attempted back in 1993, however, unsuccessfully by Clinton’s
Throughout American history, no individual healthcare reform bill had the potential to influence health care on a national level and affect all social groups until President Barack Obama’s 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). This landmark legislation, commonly known as Obamacare, has been debated, contested, altered, and ultimately implemented. Accordingly, different political and social groups have developed preconceived notions based on individual political biases and self-interests on the effect of the PPACA’s policies on, among other things, the quality of medical care.
Individuals in United State think their healthcare is the excellent one in the word. Regardless, it has major limitations that are becoming more and more visible. One major current issue being debated about American healthcare is either Affordable Care Act “Obamacare” should be repeal or replace. This has been an issue that the general citizens of America are looking forward to hearing its possible outcome.”Obamacare” is United State healthcare reform laws that control government deficit through laws and taxes. The objective is to ensure citizens of America has a reasonably priced health insurance,
Universal Health care has been the topic of discussion among politicians and Americans today and has shown zero signs of slowing down in the future. The United States is considered one of the very few countries that spends an extensive amount of money on healthcare yet people are still struggling to receive care that’s needed and dying at a alarming rate due to the fact that they cannot afford insurance coverage for themselves and their families. In March of 2010 President Barack Obama implemented the Affordable Care Act, providing millions of Americans who previously did not have health insurance the ability to acquire and purchase premiums, however there are still some serous issues surrounding its implementation.” While the president
On March 32rd, 2013, President Obama presented to Congress a Healthcare Reform Stimulus Act, in which he ensured will help all the American people save plenty of money on health coverage and medical expenses; such as, hospitalization and treatments. The Affordable Health Care Act, bill was put into law to cover recipients who was paying high premiums reduce their premiums and to insure uninsured recipients who could not afford to purchase coverage get it at a cheater cost. Without a doubt, universal healthcare is still considered one of the most challenging social problems that we have to deal with today. Even though, this issue is unsolved there is still a lot to discuss that need to be clarified concerning affordable healthcare. During presidential election in 2012 both parties the Republicans and the Democrats presented different viewpoints on this ideologies matter. Obama care new health care policy was put into action this to provide more coverage to a larger percentage of low–income working American, it is less cost effective and more within citizens spending budget. “AHRQ-funded researchers compared data on health maintenance organization (HMO) premiums in various markets. Premiums were lower in more competitive markets, where a high percentage of the population was enrolled in HMOs and many HMOs competed for their business” (AHRQ, 2002, Para. 13).
There can be no gainsaying as to the fact that a large fraction of the American citizenry remains devoid of health insurance. This means that average Americans, running into millions, find it increasingly difficult to access healthcare of whatever nature. As a consequence, this disadvantage has resulted in the proliferation of ailments and deaths that could well be avoided. Perhaps it is best we ask ourselves why the access to affordable healthcare has not been prioritized by previous administration regimes, being that it is the fulcrum of well-being and basically the backbone of a healthy, working nation. The answer should have been realized sooner, rather than latter, but
Health care reform has been a big topic since the Clinton administration when First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, took it under her belt to devise a new system. Health care is the provision taken to preserve mental and physical health using prevention and treatment. Compared to other health care systems in the world, the United States is ranked 37th in terms of care, claims Michael Moore (2007). Ironically, our health care system spends more than any other nation on its patients, averaging nearly $8,000 per person (DiNitto, 2012). With soaring costs, it is no surprise that one in every seven Americans are uninsured (Kaiser, 2011). Even with these sorry figures, statistics show that 85% of Americans are satisfied with their health care