Healthcare Reform Research Paper

The impact this rise is going to have on heath care as well as heath insurance is very dramatic. Most health insurers, private sector employers and consumers can expect increases in insurance premiums. This includes both traditional types of insurance and managed care programs, or HMOs. Some health insurance plans may also reduce benefits to keep their plans affordable. This may include increasing cost-sharing responsibility of members and the amount members pay out of pocket for certain services, such as prescription drugs.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Along with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (signed March 30), the Act is a product of the health care reform efforts of the Democratic 111th Congress and the Obama administration. The law includes health-related provisions to take effect over the next four years, including expanding Medicaid eligibility for people

The cost of health insurance has changed drastically over the years as it has become more expensive. Depending on personal characteristic, the cost of health insurance may vary. For instance, as individuals grow older the more expensive it becomes. In this case, health insurance is more costly because “older individuals require more health care” therefore “the cost of providing health care is rising” (Madura &Atlantic, 2012). Not only does this affect the high cost of health insurance, but the number of individuals uninsured. As stated by Madura and Atlantic (2012), “about one in every five workers is uninsured” and has increased since then because health insurance has become unaffordable. As a result, individuals tend to seek health care elsewhere as they can no longer

Employers are continuing to face rising health benefit costs and are constantly looking for alternatives to control these escalating costs. Health benefit premiums continue to increase at a double digit pace for employers and employees (Poor, Ross & Tollen, 2004). This escalation is putting environmental pressures on all impacted stakeholders. Companies and insurance providers are squeezing this industry to get a handle on cost while still providing an appropriate level of care. This cycle puts the patient front and center as the ultimate stakeholder who incurs changes in health benefits. This mandate of cost control, efficient operations and market share has facilitated a constant analysis of the dynamic health

The negative impacts of healthcare reform to health systems are significant in that health systems are preparing their resources on developing Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) for bundled payments and population-based reimbursement. In this economy the impact to health systems may require healthcare systems to figure out ways to continue to keep positive financial performance due to the cost-reduction of healthcare reform. For some time now, health systems have subsidized their losses from the Medicare and Medicaid systems by contracting with commercial payers for their premium rates. As a result of the healthcare reform, cost shifting will shrink. Another negative impact over the next few years will be the large shift in health plan enrollment. Less people will be covered by highly

At last, the law gave new alternatives and motivating forces to help states rebalance their Medicaid long haul mind programs for group based administrations and backings as opposed to institutional care. All in all, these arrangements have quickened Medicaid advancement effectively in progress in numerous states. Also improved with the ACA besides Medicaid, is Medicare. The Affordable Care Act incorporates a progression of Medicare changes that will create billions of dollars in reserve funds for Medicare and fortify the care Medicare recipients get. The new law secures ensured benefits for all Medicare recipients, and gives new advantages and administrations to seniors on Medicare that will help keep seniors solid. The law likewise incorporates arrangements that will enhance the nature of care, create and advance new models of care conveyance, suitably value administrations, modernize our wellbeing framework, and battle waste, extortion, and mishandle. A big topic that is affected from ACA is businesses. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- otherwise known as Obamacare -- is putting such a small dent in the profits of U.S. companies that many refer to its impact as 'not material' or 'not significant. Even after a provision went into effect this year requiring companies with 50 or more full-time workers to provide coverage, and after more workers are choosing to enroll in existing company coverage because of another requirement that all Americans get

The idea of passing the health care reform was to expand health care coverage, however, in order to do so, many changes must be implemented in order to fulfill the ACA 's promises. The first of which is allowing all individuals to acquire health insurance no matter the age, pre-existing conditions, or other unfair practices. Statistics show that “half of Americas” have a preexisting medical condition in which with the passage of the ACA, it allows individuals to acquire health insurance without the worry of having to pay high insurance bills (Moisse, 2011). The reason why having preexisting health conditions is no longer a factor in acquiring health insurance is because with the passage of the ACA (as discussed earlier, it was made a mandate to acquire health insurance) it is expected that it will balance out economically with the people who require more medical help to their healthier counterparts that do not require as much medical attention (Goodnough, 2016).

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or ‘Obamacare’ in 2010 and its implementation in 2014,there has been a steady decline in the uninsured population of the United States of America. The number of Americans with health insurance, has reached a historic peak. According to recent data from the Census Bureau about health insurance coverage, the number of uninsured Americans fell from 33 million the year prior to ACA implementation to 29 million in 2014.The total uninsured rate dropped by more than 4 percent since the health care law took effect. The ACA has significantly reduced the number of Americans who were not able to acquire health insurance due to poverty, unemployment, or having a pre-existing condition.

The Massachusetts Health Care Act of 2006 was an attempt to give healthcare to all of the residents of Massachusetts. The law mandated that nearly every resident of Massachusetts obtain a minimum level of insurance coverage, provided free health care insurance for residents earning less than 150% of the federal poverty level and mandated employers with more than 10 "full-time" employees to provide healthcare insurance. The law was amended significantly in 2008 and twice in 2010 to make it consistent with the federal Affordable Care Act. Massachusetts ' recent health reform has decreased the number of uninsured, but no study has examined medical bankruptcy rates before and after the reform was implemented. These brief statements say a lot about the health care plan and what it was designed to do. The plan was created by Governor Mitt Romney in Massachusetts beginning in 2005. As a public figure, the people either adored him or despised him. With his plan to control health care in the state of Massachusetts, the success rate was then determined by his popularity throughout the state, with his ability to make the act a form of succession to meet the needs of the people of his state.

Reducing the number of uninsured Americans: Nationwide, since the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansion began, about

Massachusetts began its health care reform in 1988. Under the direction of Governor Michael Dukakis (D), a universal health care law was enacted through implementation of a “play-or-pay” employer mandate; unfortunately this implementation suffered multiple postponements (McDonough, Rosman, Phelps, & Shannon, 2006). Some components of the 1988 law were implemented and stand today: the CommonHealth program for Medicaid coverage to disabled adults seeking to work and to certain disabled children, the Medical Security Plan provides coverage to workers who are collecting unemployment compensation, the Healthy Start program provides coverage to lower-income pregnant women and new mothers, and the student health insurance mandate (McDonough et al., 2006).

Notable items include raising the dependent children age to 26 with no caveats regarding college attendance, eliminating the insurer’s right to refuse coverage of pre-existing conditions, abolishing cost limitations of patient care, mandating rebates of unused premiums, and offering preventative patient exams and physicals at no expense to the sponsor. An unpopular provision is the 40% excise tax employers, or insurers will pay for plans where the premiums exceed $10,200 per person or $27,500 per family in a year (The White House, n.d.b).

Employee health benefits are undergoing a radical change due the passage of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act in March 2010, employers are having to re-evaluating how and if they will be provide health benefits to their employees (Grant Thornton LLP, 2013). According to Dunn, Kirsschner, & Livingston (2014) the PPACA has created new complications into collective bargaining negotiations over health insurance benefits. Especially in firms like GMFC which employs a large numbers of workers (50,000) who must now comply with federal statutes delegated by the PPACA (Dunn, Kirsschner, & Livingston, 2014). According to Grant Thornton LLP (2013), “Employer-sponsored health care plans have been one of the major sources of health insurance in the United States and cover an estimated 149 million people” (p. 3). Additionally, the use of health care plans in benefit packages has been a critical factor for employers in recruiting and retaining quality employees (Grant Thornton LLP, 2013).

The coming change of Macro-trends according to Academic Health Centers (AHCs) as we begin looking at the threat to the United States’ health care which is already perceived the value of patient care delivered and a significant reduction in direct payments to physicians in AHCs (Garson and Levin, 2001). Healthcare has been a hot topic among politicians, the public, and the many industries that the repeal and replace Obamacare will influence by new laws (Murillo). The cuts that GOP expects to approve will affect Medicare programs believed that it is ok because seniors have subsidized care that will kick in when this happens. On the other hand, Murillo in his article believes that “new legislation is expected to help as many as 30 million more

The VIII. Structural changes to health insurance industry The ACA's goals of coverage expansion, costs control, and improved healthcare delivery have begun to change the structure of the health insurance industry in a