State Health Policy Analysis

Rising health insurance premiums have made healthcare unaffordable in the United States. Health insurance premiums in this country have undergone a steady rise over the past few years while incomes have remained the same. More than 50% of individuals with low incomes holding private insurance in the United States are unable to afford their healthcare costs (Collins, Gunja, Doty & Buetel, 2015). In addition, costs related to healthcare are equally unaffordable to 25% of working-age individuals who hold private health insurance policies (Collins et al., 2015). According to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust (Kaiser/HRET) survey on employer health benefits, employer-sponsored health insurance plans have also had moderate rises in premiums in 2013 for both individuals and family coverage (Claxton et al., 2013). While

Texas, which currently has a large uninsured population and limited Medicaid eligibility, forfeits billions of dollars from the federal government every year by not expanding its Medicaid program as implemented in the Affordable Care Act. In contrast, Medicaid expansion could benefit the state exponentially and give its citizens the fullest potential of what this country offers. A substantial amount of federal funding that could increase uninsured coverage, improve healthcare costs, and provide economic stimulus is left on the table. Additionally, the nation benefits when each state participates, contributing to the success of the healthcare reform.

states expanded Medicaid coverage to nonelderly adults who make $16,400 per year or less for a single adult. Michigan legislators could approve a unique model for the expansion of Medicaid coverage. Previously uninsured adults with incomes up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level would now be able to revise healthcare benefits ((Dr. Ayanian, 2017). The “Healthy Michigan Plan enrollment has vastly exceeded expectations, surpassing the state’s first year projection in less than four months” (Udow-Phillips, et al, 2015). The federal funding for the Medicaid expansion has increased economic benefits to the Michigan budget. There was a reduced state spending of $235 million on services covered by the expanded Medicaid program and the macroeconomic benefit through increases in tax revenue and the expansion of economic activity from the new federal funding through the ACA (Dr. Ayanian, 2017). This increase in the economic activity benefits Michigan residents through increased employment and the increase has been shown to be positive for health care, construction, and retail services.

The Affordable Care Act promotes Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion is needed in North Carolina to insure the disabled and those that live below the poverty level receive adequate healthcare coverage. The resistance of North Carolina legislature in the promotion of Medicaid reform has retarded Medicaid expansion to its uninsured residents. The cooperation of the North Carolina legislature and its support of the Affordable Care Act is necessary for successful Medicaid reform. This paper reviews the impact of the Affordable Care Act 's lack of implementation in North Carolina.

Throughout the early 1980’s and 1990’s the Federal Medicaid program was challenged by rapidly rising Medicaid program costs and an increasing number of uninsured population. One of the primary reasons for the overall increase in healthcare costs is the

In 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which puts into place health insurance reform with the purpose of providing health care access to those who are uninsured and underinsured. The goals of the law are to make health care affordable, accessible and higher quality. In 2013, open enrollment began and now that three years have passed, it is a good time to evaluate how this law impacts Ohioans (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014-a). In this paper, I will discuss health care reform in Ohio, examine positive and negative outcomes, and look at the effect of the ACA on health care economics.

Texas has the largest uninsured population with an estimated 6.2 million uninsured citizens within its stateliness, approximately a quarter of the statewide population (Rapoport, 2012). In 2012, then governor, Rick Perry decided that Texas would not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This decision led to much debate over whether or not Perry made the right decision to leave upwards of a million Texans, who did not receive insurance subsidies and did not qualify for Medicaid, uninsured. These Texans fell under what many politicians refer to as the “coverage gap.” Texas decided not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act because of the effects it would have on hospitals, financial reasons, and increased number of

With the implementation of the ACA, many states have expanded their Medicaid programs to include a larger population of low income individuals and families that were not able to obtain health insurance prior to the law. Some of the issues that state legislators struggle with are the overall cost of providing services for the additional recipients, staying within budget, determining an adequate approach of offering quality care, and providing adequate coverage for each recipient. Even though the cost of Medicaid expansion within each state has increased the budget for the program, new appraisals has shown that Medicaid programs spend less per enrollee than commercial health insurance and much of the increase in Medicaid expenses originate from the increase in enrollment in the programs (Coughlin, Long, Clemens-Cope, & Resnick, 2013).

Holahan, J., Buettgens, M., Carroll, C., & Dorn, S. (2012). The cost and coverage implications of the ACA Medicaid expansion: National and state-by-state analysis (Publication # 8384). Retrieved from The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/8384.pdf

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

America spends 2.5 times more on healthcare than most developed countries yet still ranking 51st in life expectancy in the world (Baum, 2015). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was implemented January 1, 2014 by President Obama to expand coverage to millions of individuals in need. It consists of two separate pieces of legislation: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services, 2016). Although the ACA will give health benefits to millions of uninsured Americans, hospitals are receiving less compensation because of the high demand of health care from over qualified recipients. Through the Children’s Health Insurance Program and also the Social Security Act, states are able to pilot a test approach that could extend coverage up to 200 percent of the poverty line (Sommers, Kenney, & Epstein, 2015). Such a large increase in the size of the population that is now eligible to apply for the ACA comes with a sizable amount of fiscal responsibility from the states and puts an immense strain on the amount of money guaranteed to pay for the services provided (Sonier et al., 2013). Given the lack of funding from the Medicaid program, absence of reimbursement strategies, and budget of healthcare in America’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),

NU 412 Health Policy Week 3 Discussion Board response student response to Carla Fisher by Kathryn Moultrie

One of this health care’s programs objective is to limit the number of uninsured (Shi & Singh, 2015). This controversial healthcare plan incorporates a privately funded insurance which is paid for through employment and solely by the patient and a publicly funded insurance by the government. Medicare is provided for senior citizens 65 and older, and Medicaid is provided for low income citizens. The federal government and state government both partake in the funding of Medicaid. Although insurance is provided to the low income through Medicaid, the United States continues to suffer from cost escalation spending 17.1 percent of GDP on healthcare in 2013, a 50 percent more than the second nation (Commonwealth, n.d.) The high cost and limited coverage continues to spark up the conversation for a

Seiber and Berman (2017) conclude that the Medicaid expansion helped the vast majority of enrollees, and there would be no pathway for them to obtain private-sector insurance if the ACA were repealed. Tarazi et al. (2016) believes that if there were no expansion of Medicaid, many cancer survivors would have limited access to routine care. Call et al. (2015) state that there is a clear evidence that the ACA has led to significant health insurance coverage gains. Pickett, Stephen, et al. (2016) analyze the uninsured rate in Texas (one of the highest in the nation) and conclude that Texas health care providers would face grave financial consequences if the 2017 session of the Texas legislature had not pass legislation to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Flint (2014) finds that States that refuse the Medicaid expansions are creating a problem for themselves as we are all beneficiaries of the Medicaid program.

US health care expenditures have been rising quickly over the past few years; it has risen more than the national financial system. Nonetheless a number of citizens in the US still lack appropriate health care. If the truth be told, health care expenditures are going to continue to increase; in addition numerous individuals will possibly have to make difficult choices pertaining to their health care. Our health system has grave problems that require reform, through reforming, there is optimism that there will be an increase in affordable health care and high-quality of care for America. Medicaid, Medicare and private sector insurances are all going through trials and tribulations because of