The Affordable Care Act ( Aca )

Medicaid is a social health care program that covers nearly 60 million Americans, including children, pregnant women, seniors, parents and individuals suffering with disabilities. Medicaid is the biggest source of funding for health related services and medical needs for the people with low income in the United States. This program is funded jointly by the state and federal level governments, but it is the state’s responsibility to manage this program. The Medicaid program is not a required program that states have to use, but all 50 states have implemented this program. With the introduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and its passing in 2010, the ACA unveiled its plans to expand Medicaid eligibility to nearly all low-income adults as an addition to the other groups that fall into the Medicaid eligibility. The Medicaid program had “many gaps in coverage for adults” because it was only restricted to the low income individuals and other people with needs in their own specific category. In the past, the majority of the states who had adults that did not have children dependent on those parents were not eligible for Medicaid. These low income adults without dependent children would be without medical insurance assistance before the ACA was introduced. Medicaid is now available to all Americans under the age of 65 whose family income is at or below the federal poverty guideline of “133 percent or $14,484 for an individual and $29,726 for a family of four in 2011” (NSCL).

Large populations of Americans are uninsured mainly because of the high cost of insurance. Majority of the uninsured are the low-income working families’. The adults represent a higher percentage of the uninsured than children. Before the law, you could be denied coverage or treatment because you had been sick in the past, be dropped mid-treatment for making a simple mistake on your application, hence, the Affordable Care Act was implemented into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barrack Obama to make sure that every American irrespective of their status will be insured and have full access to proper health care benefits, rights and protection(1). To understand the

In order to make insurance affordable to all there were extensive private health insurance regulatory reforms, particularly in the small group and non-group markets, there were tax credits offered to the smallest lowest-wage employers for the purchase of health insurance, there were reductions in cost-sharing associated with recommended preventive care. For example if you signed up with a fitness center you can get a 50% discount on your insurance. The market exchange was established for the purchase of private coverage plus subsidies for the individual purchase of coverage and for the cost-sharing of the modest income. “The affordable care act also expanded the eligibility for the Medicaid program to all non-elderly with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level ($23,000 to $32,000 for a family of four in 2012) starting in 2014, which helped phase out the Medicare prescription drug benefit coverage gap, a.k.a. the “doughnut hole”.” To make sure that everyone is complying with the rule of everyone needs to have healthcare coverage there was a penalty set up for those that failed to comply. The penalty was if you did not have insurance by the set date you will receive a tax penalty that you will have to pay when filling your taxes. There are financial requirements that large- and medium sized

Obamacare expands Medicaid and created a Health Insurance Marketplace, a universal way to sign up for subsidized health care plans. It makes it easier for low income families to receive benefits from Medicaid and other unsubsidized loans. Over half of uninsured Americans can get free or low cost health insurance, and some can get help on out-of-pocket costs using their state’s Health Insurance Marketplace. Through the Marketplace, though, you can only get certain plans from certain providers, as many of them are unwilling to provide subsidized loans. Protections from Obamacare also ensure that you can’t be dropped from … or denied coverage or treatment for

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a health reform law that was signed by President Barrack Obama on March 23, 2010. The full name of the law is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). One week later the President also signed a law called the Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act (HCERA), which was a supplement that made several changes the PPACA. What the country currently refers to as the ACA or "Obamacare" is both of these laws combined. (McDonough, 2012)

Understanding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can be problematic, the goal of the ACA is to address the fact that millions of Americans do not have health insurance, yet they are contributors to the health care market, consuming health care services for which they do not pay. While this may seem to be a great idea, many Americans are not really sure how they are affected by this Health Care Reform. The goal is to make health insurance affordable, secure, and reliable for all. The ACA is a minimum coverage provision, individuals are given health insurance by amending the tax code. There is an individual mandate which stipulates all non-exempt individuals must maintain a minimum level of insurance or pay a tax penalty. ACA extends Medicaid, states have to accept or they will not receive Federal funding. The act also includes an employer mandate to obtain health coverage for employees. The Affordable Care Act has changed the way health care is provided and the way individuals will participate (The Affordable Care Act Cases. (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2015)

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,

Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed into law in March 2010, a few things have changed in the provision of physical therapy services, in specific productivity standards and reimbursement in outpatient physical therapy clinics. The Affordable Care Act has resulted in an increased demand for physical therapy services primarily due to the construction of the Health Insurance Marketplace. This created new health insurance options to help Americans acquire health insurance, who previously were not able to afford it. Although the ACA is a very extensive and complex piece of legislation, it has ultimately resulted in more individuals who are eligible for physical therapy services. This increased demand not only comes from the ACA but also from reimbursement cuts from insurance companies, subsequently causing physical therapists to overload their schedules as a means to offset these cuts. These demands are without factoring in the aging baby boomer population, which is expected to increased the physical therapist need by 30% from 2008 to 2018 (cite). Physical therapy is about providing the best patient care, however patient care is also a business and businesses are centered on revenue. Below are some of the current proposed solutions along with personal solutions and insight on the productivity issue.

Challenges were evaluated and although the ACA has provisions for healthcare, numerous individuals still remain uninsured and blame the high cost of healthcare insurance as the primary reason they do not have healthcare coverage. In a survey by the Kaiser Foundation in 2014 showed that 48% of uninsured people stated the cost for healthcare was too expensive as the primary reason they were uninsured. Many workers do not have accessibility to healthcare coverage through an employer, and others, predominantly poor working adults from states with no Medicaid expansion, stay ineligible for public healthcare insurance coverage. Furthermore, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid or other healthcare from the Marketplace.

For those states that decided to take part in the Medicaid expansion it would help adults that were living under the poverty line. Many of these adults did not have jobs that offered them health insurance or they struggle to even pay the bills to just barely get by, and therefore health insurance is one of the last things on their mind when it comes to having that or being able to have electricity or even putting food on the table, they are not able to just go and be able to pick out health insurance for themselves and their family because they live below the poverty line. Officials promised that individuals who liked their currents plans would be able to keep them but it turned out that was not the case because many current plans of insurance did not meet the standards that the Affordable Care Act made. Again employers had to change their plans to fit the standards, premiums shot up and many of the plans had more coverage then what most people needed- meaning they had to pay higher copays and deductibles. They would use the marketplace to find the details of the types of plans that were being offered. States that choose not to participate in the expansion of Medicaid still would not have the people who lived in between the 100%-138% level of income on the federal poverty would be able to be granted subsidies but these subsidies might not cover their entire monthly cost for their health insurance, or their premium. Because of this though there is less on an incentive for people to go out and buy insurance on their own. “With fourteen states opting out, we estimate that 3.6 million fewer people would be insured, federal transfer payments to those states could fall by $8.4 billion, and state spending on uncompensated care could increase by $1 billion in 2016, compared to what would be expected if all states participated in the expansion.”(Polycin, 2009). For the

The Affordable Care Act is considered one of the most important legislations related to health care reform to ever been enacted in the history of the United States (Cannan, 2013). The ACA was developed in order to give consumers control of their health care and to provide them with a means of power. The intention was for Americans to have stability and flexibility when it came to making personal healthcare decisions. Many citizens have been able to opportunity obtain affordable healthcare coverage with this reform that they did not have before. Programs have been developed to assist those with pre-existing conditions that may have previously been unable to obtain coverage. Options for young adults under the age of 30 who may not have had coverage have been developed under other health coverage program enacted. The Affordable Care Act has also offered protection for those that received arbitrary withdrawals of insurance coverage. Many Americans have chosen to opt out of healthcare coverage altogether in the past, but this is no longer an option without a penalty. There is a fine that is required to be paid when filing annual income taxes. Unfortunately, some Americans are uninsured and do not have the means to pay for health insurance, and are forced to pay the fine. This has been a growing issue in America as many families cannot afford much more beyond the daily necessities. Therefore, any serious injury or illness can quickly diminish any savings or cause debt to those

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will cause a large influx of patients into the health care system. For a variety of reasons, this will change how the front-line health care personnel provide care. Nurses will expand his or her scope and territory of care. Front line providers will change to include more advanced practice nurses because of the national shortage of primary care providers ("Department Of Health And Human Services," 2014). No longer will they just practice in brick and mortar hospitals. Because of the recently instituted Medicare, reimbursement regulations after patients are discharge from the hospital more nurses will be in the field performing well patient checks. These nurses will ensure the follow through of discharge

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) is commonly referred to as Obamacare. This pseudo name or nickname initially assigned to the program as a criticism of now former President Obama's efforts to stabilize healthcare at a national level, but it has since become the most widely accepted for the ACA. There are many cited reasons for opposition to the program, including the concern it presents the US government with an unnecessary control of public healthcare benefits.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in 2010 and was designed to insure millions of people, who did not have health insurance, reduce out-of-pocket expenses for families and reduce costs for small businesses. In essences, when enrollment opens in 2013, the ACA law will target the 42 million Americans that according to a Census Bureau Survey are uninsured (Klein). Indeed, Obama Care from a utilitarian point of view is a huge improvement in medical services to a larger proportion of the population, that prior to this law did not have insurance available to them, including improved availability of health care services and reigning in out of control insurance companies.

The Affordable Care Act is one of the new policy that provides Americans with better health security by putting in place comprehensive health insurance reforms. It allows people to have expand coverage. Now a child can stay under his parents insurance until age 26. The ACA holds insurance responsible by dropping health care while guarantees more choices and enhance the quality of care. The ACA facilitates long-term care services to help people whom such care need receive it and to find ways to help make such care available not only in organizations but also in the public. They try to eliminate non-discrimination language that will restrict health insurance companies from discriminating against any health care provider. The ACA includes policies