The American Health Care System
When you think of the American health care system, most people would like to think that it has evolved with the citizen’s best interest in mind. I realized maybe this was not the case after the story I heard from my sister. My sister has dealt with many health problems throughout her whole life from childhood leukemia to extensive back problems and most recently a serious heart condition. She was experiencing shortness of breath and was referred to a specialist to get further testing and imaging done to figure out what the problem was. Her insurance coverage was through the Affordable Care Act, but it did not actually help her. Although she is covered, her deductible is through the roof at $12,000 a year.
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How do we know what should be right and what is wrong? How do we know what will work best and what won’t? What one person thinks might help, someone else doesn’t think it will—how do we know?
Health care for all serves as a good example for those who support the Affordable Care Act. This statement plays a role in symbolizing a false representation of what some of us believe.
People who believe that the Affordable Care Act is the best thing for health care subscribe to the idea that it provides health care for all. False representation is a fallacy in which it is “untrue, but recklessly made when the maker has no knowledge as to its truth or falsity” (Merriam-Webster). With the act in place, the goal is to give more Americans access to affordable, quality health insurance and to reduce the growth in the U.S. health care spending (ObamaCare Facts: Facts on the Affordable Care Act). Although the ACA has opened many doors for the health care system, there are many changes that could make it even better. For instance, the sale of health insurance across state lines should be allowed. This will provide competition against insurance companies and decrease insurance premiums in many states, making deductibles and other expenses actually affordable for those low-income citizens. Also, refundable tax credits could be offered to low-income families and individuals enabling them to purchase health insurance. Another solution could be to
Health care has been a controversial topic of discussion for all Americans since it was put in effect many years ago. Currently the biggest debate of Healthcare up to date is Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is a Health care Reform that is a governmental attempt to make basic health care easily obtainable. However, there are no benefits without cost in situations like this, and upon that are different viewpoints on the subject thus creating political debates discussing if it is ethically correct. The overall goal that Obamacare hopes to accomplish is that through specific changes through insurance companies, industry standards, and patient guarantees a healthier America will be produced. Obamacare has its ups and downs for both the generally agreeing democratic viewpoints and the opposing republican side. Both viewpoints have their own beliefs about how Health care works and Obamacare is somewhat in between on this. Most arguments on Obamacare deal with Medicaid being constitutional and if Obamacare truly reduces the total cost of health care for individuals and in the government.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a topic of dispute since its introduction and continues to be discussed by politicians in the U.S. and throughout the world even after its passage. The Act has many opponents and is the cause of much controversy nationwide, primarily because it introduces higher healthcare costs for the richest citizens. Nevertheless, the ACA is an important stage in the American healthcare development process as it not only allows more people to receive healthcare services, but will also reduce the deficit. However, not everyone agrees. The policy is controversial in terms of cost vs. benefits, but the benefits ultimately outweigh the costs.
The first characteristic of the US health care system is that there is no central governing agency which allows for little integration and coordination. While the government has a great influence on the health care system, the system is mostly controlled through private hands. The system is financed publically and privately creating a variety of payments and delivery unlike centrally controlled healthcare systems in other developed countries. The US system is more complex and less manageable than centrally controlled health care systems, which makes it more expensive. The second characteristic of the US health care system is that it is technology driven and focuses on acute care. With more usage of high technology,
There are so many people here in the country that is not getting their complete health care coverage because of preventable conditions. Most Americans only receive half of the services suggested. The Affordable Care Act is mainly directed to the needs of Americans in need of healthcare that are not already covered.
Questions are constantly circulating around the new Affordable Care Act. Many do not know what it does and the government is trying to make it out to be a big savior to the medical field for doctors and patients alike. The Affordable Care Act has also been given the name Obamacare because of its ties to the President. He believes that increasing the amount of people on insurances of any kind that meets his “standards” will help health care become more available and more profitable. Unfortunately, these claims are not true as Obamacare is clearly going to negatively impact health care in all aspects. The problems start for patients who get on government healthcare programs, such as Medicaid, with the fact that the treatment plans are extremely
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.
In 2008, upon the commencement of The Affordable Care Act, the idea was to help millions of uninsured Americans gain health insurance, especially those who are at or just above the federal poverty level. Although the idea behind a universal health care system was great at the time, many citizens are struggling to find a doctor that will accept the subsidized health care insurance, such as Medicaid, and Passport. Furthermore, doctors choose to opt-out of accepting government based health insurance because the reimbursement rates are too low. “It is estimated that private plans pay $1.00 for a service, Medicare pays $0.80, and the ACA exchange plans are paying about $0.60.” (Harvey 1) That shows that the government based subsidized programs are significantly lower than the average market value. A
One of our nation’s most controversial topics since the year 2009, and still continues to affect our country, is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The Law was designed to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and protect patients from abuse or discrimination. The Affordable Care Act affects, all Americans, either in a positive or negative way. It is an issue that has come to separated our congress, it has divided the republican and democratic parties, to the point where the Government was shut down.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a primary debate topic since it was enacted in 2010. The conservatives completely disagree with the Affordable Care Act and believe that “Democrats used it as an assertion of power than they used it to improve health care conditions” (“Republican Views on Health Care”, 2014). They believe that the act was a waste of taxpayer’s dollars and would inevitably ruin our health care system. In contrast, the liberals supported the ACA and “pride themselves on the fact that health care costs are growing at the slowest rate since 1960” (“Democratic View on Health Care”, 2014). The liberals believe that every American should have access to health care by making premiums affordable. However, in order to do so
For centuries, health care has been an ever changing entity within the United States. The cost of health insurance, medication, and medical care has fluctuated from high to low. Over the years with all the changes to healthcare, those in Congress try to appease everyone that is involved. For example, trying to make healthcare affordable for those who are less fortunate and live around the poverty line. As well as, employers who may have to revamp their insurance plans offered to the employees. Recently the talk about healthcare has put many people in an uproar. Health care reform has been a very debatable topic since President Obama has been in office. Health care reform, also known as Obama Care, has a section called the Affordable Care
In March 2013, President Barack Obama signed a federal statue into law that would change the way Americans receive healthcare. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as the Affordable Care Act, and sometimes called Obamacare is the most significant revision of the U.S. healthcare system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid back in 1965. The main function of the Affordable Care Act is to improve hospitals’ and physicians’ practices financially, technologically, and clinically so the health outcomes and lower costs. Americans are split, as they are with most political issues, on whether or not the act is a viable solution to our healthcare problem. Even though it has had its problems such as a faulty website and being thought of as too complicated and expensive for the American government to take on, I believe the Affordable Care Act is a good solution for the healthcare problems in our country.
As our great country grows we fix and find new problems every day. One of the biggest debates in the country is regarding whether or not the new “Affordable Care Act” is posing a problem to American society and lifestyle. Many actors, sports men, and friendly faces would tell you how wonderful it will be for American medicine once the populace is insured. However “Affordable care is more of a pipe dream in America until we are a more fiscally stable country, as well as a better approach to socialized medicine. For now the only thing we should be doing regarding health care is stapling a limit to make it more affordable for middle and lower class people instead of penalizing people for something they cannot afford.
For the past several months, the news feeds have been full of stories on Obamacare, more accurately described as The Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is the largest mandated healthcare change in the United States since Medicare and Medicaid began in 1965 (Mayer, 2013). It was signed into Law in 2010 designed to give all Americans access to healthcare. Whether you are for or against The Affordable Care Act one thing is above dispute, it has caused a Nationwide uproar. Now that we are in a new Presidential era, steps are being taken to “Repeal and Replace” Obamacare.
The Affordable Care Act is a piece of legislation that aims to extend healthcare coverage to millions of Americans. This bill has divided the nation and in some circles discussions end in bitter arguments.
Some of the approaches of the ACA are ineffective, poorly targeted, or not ambitious enough to address deeply rooted problems in our broken health care system. For example, individuals with middle income who falls between insurance gap and cannot buy health insurance or qualify for Medicaid, health insurance is usually an unaffordable option. Even if a health insurance plan is available on the exchange for which those individuals can afford the premiums (without a subsidy), they most likely cannot afford the high deductible and coinsurance which they have to pay before the insurance plan begins. This amount is typically a few thousands of dollars a year, in addition to the premium