The Dollar and Sense of Preventive Care

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice.” Public Health Reports. Association of Schools of Public Health. n.d. Web. 14 July 2015. This paper claims that the PPACA will cut the number of uninsured Americans in half. The act attempts to provide nearly universal coverage and improve the quality and equity of said coverage through reforms to insurance standards and the marketplace. It also attempts to improve the quality of healthcare and the efficiency of its delivery by allowing consumers to edge the system into a more integrated state and measuring performance. It attempts to encourage preventive medicine by targeting chronic illnesses and funding community-based medicine. These changes will bring huge opportunities for improvement in the system, many of which are subtle and nuanced and will only be seen as the plan rolls into act over the next few

Americans have been faced with a new health care reform act known as Affordable Care Act initiated in 2010. Why was it so important for this nation to reform is health care system? How are we sure the ACA is improving our system for the American people? For many years, the health care industry has left many Americans uninsured. With health care costs on the rise and very few able to afford costs, and the quality of care in underserved areas not what it should be has left this nation largely unhealthy. Several landmark reports, including the Center for Disease Control factsheets and the Healthy People 2020 have astounding statistics confirming these alarming rates and clearly identifying the need for reform. The Affordable Care Act is the starting foundation for Americans to start investing in their own promotion of wellness and disease prevention. By choosing healthier lifestyle changes, individuals can make a difference which in turn will improve our nation’s overall health for the better.

The Affordable Care Act has made many positive changes for uninsured and underinsured citizens. With the addition of a program called Health Insurance Marketplace, it is now possible for uninsured people in every state to purchase private insurance plans, those making under 400% or less of the Federal Poverty Level will be able to have tax credits making insurance more affordable (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014). Insurance companies are no longer allowed to cancel a policy or raise rates when a client gets sick. Insurance companies cannot refuse coverage to individuals with preexisting conditions such as cancer (“Quality Improvement,” 2015). Insurance companies now must cover preventive care and screenings allowing diseases like cancer to be caught early (“Quality Improvement,” 2015). Research has shown that through health screenings

Recently the Untied States top priority has been to provide accessible and affordable health care to every American. Those that lack access to coverage find it much more difficult to seek proper treatment and when they do they maybe left with astronomical medical bills. The CommanWealth Fund found that one-third or thirty three percent of Americans forgo health care because of costs and one-fifth or twenty percent are thus left with medical bills that have problems being able to pay. The federal government, through the Affordable Care Act (2010), has mandated that every person have health coverage in order

Insurance is a critical part in the health care of Americans that would use it for life threatening, unaffordable and spontaneous health issues. But instead insurance has created substantial problem because it is being utilized as a payment system for everyday primary health care and not to cure

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a radical healthcare reform that aims to provide affordable, quality healthcare for all US citizens. This increased scope of coverage would allow millions more of Americans to use the system. In order to drive down costs from many more individuals, the ACA has planned to increase incentives for preventative public health interventions including primary care physicians. Although this is a fine beginning, I believe the greatest challenge to the long-term success of this reform remains the shift in mindset from a focus in treatment to an equal focus in prevention. Preventative services are vital to a healthcare system. However, the effects of prevention are often long term, and thus are traditionally underappreciated by those who have the disease being prevented. Individuals with the disease also undervalue prevention, as it does not affect their health state. With this mindset, prevention is undermined and will continue to be a challenge for the progression of the ACA.

This paper explores three fundamental economic reasons to promote the Affordable Care Act. These reasons are found in several articles that focus the most among other reasons. These reasons are: getting most uninsured people to be covered in health care insurances, lowering the health insurance costs for both insured and uninsured, and to focus more on prevention than treatments. After introducing these three reasons, there are also some disadvantages listed in this paper to compare Affordable Care Act’s social benefits and its costs. In this paper, the readers are

Overall healthcare quality has been improve the overall health of the population under these insurance plans candidates receive free preventative care. With many preventative treatments available it’s essential for healthcare field to shift from treating chronic disease to taking preventative measures beforehand. These programs has been able to improve the financial status of the Medicaid and Medicare programs by creating awareness among enrollees of the importance of preventive health and reduce the impact of obesity.

Population health emphasizes on the on health issues of total populations at community level, state level or at country level and public health programs attempt to maximize preventive care at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Traditionally, physician practices are involved in treatment procedures of acute problems and left with little time to address on preventive care and chronic care needs. To contain the costs in healthcare, Affordable care act promoted the importance of preventive medicine and made a provision which makes preventive care affordable and accessible by requiring certain private health plans to cover certain recommended preventive services

Clinically, tertiary prevention can occur if young adults who are still attending office visits yet are experiencing poor outcomes due to compliance, self-care or disease education issues. When this occurs, it is appropriate to move from transitional care management techniques to standard chronic disease management techniques. In the more modern models of chronic disease management, it is suggested the primary care

This article effectively features the components of health promotion in the affordable care act era, notable for the necessity of further improvements. Through further research of particular populations and environments, one may better ascertain which initiatives have proven to effectively promote health, such as decreasing

Unfortunately Healthcare in the US is very much centered around treating patients once they’re sick versus establishing effective preventative methods to help folks avoid getting sick in the first place. This reactionary approach of treating the sick is very lucrative to some business such as pharmaceutical companies. However, patients as consumers, their families and society as a whole are the ones who bear the brunt of negative consequences that such a poorly designed healthcare system fosters. Many of the greatest challenges related to increasing preventative care in our healthcare system stem from the need for people – providers and patients, to ‘change’ and embrace a new paradigm. Most people are resistant to change especially changes

Preventative services is an important aspect of health care though the common practice in health care in the United States is intervention. The demand and need for medical care and services can be reduced by implementing preventative care. Prescreening is essential to not only reducing cost but to individualized quality care which improves health outcomes for patients. An important area for preventative measures is family planning for teens and young females, and the monitoring of behavioral changes to reduce risks of unwanted pregnancies and

Secondary care is where we go or are sent to when we have a medical condition that requires more than what can be handled at the primary care level.

The American Academy of Family Physicians suggests that there is no single definition that can completely define primary care. Primary care has several definitions because it is a multi layered approach and network of services experienced in the early stages of an individual’s entry into the health care system. Primary care involves primary care practices, primary care physicians, non-primary care physicians, and non-physician primary care providers (1). They fall under the scope of providing individuals with first contact care and entry into the complex world of health care. There are three levels of care, which are comprised of primary, secondary, and tertiary care. They are are ranked not only