The Health Care Industry Throughout The United States

Imagine paying $500, $600, $700, or $1,000 monthly for health care insurance only to realize these payments were for naught. The health care insurance provider that received these monthly installments has decided whatever is ailing you will not be covered due to a pre-existing medical condition. What if you couldn’t have the luxury of health care insurance at all due to the basis the health care insurance provider has concluded you have a pre-existing medical condition? These are the dilemmas facing millions of Americans

Universities stemmed some of the biggest medical advances in the health care industry amongst the world. The educational platform for the United States spells long term success for health care, by growing the next generation of top health care providers. In comparison Germany and Canada also are represented amongst the top 50 medical schools in the world, but lack any representation of the top 10 prestige rankings. On top of that, both other countries lack volume and opportunity to receive a valued medical education when compared to the United States.

After the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in 2010, much of the uninsured population in the United States were finally given the access to health insurance (Shi & Singh, 2015). Prior to the passing of the Act, those who did not have insurance still managed to seek medical attention, whether paying for medical care out of their own pockets or seeking the assistance of government programs. As reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013, 13.4% of the population in the U.S. were uninsured during the entire year (Smith & Medalia, 2014). Still, a great number of uninsured who sought medical care were unable to pay for those services, this is referred as uncompensated care. In 2013 the cost incurred from

While the Affordable Care Act was implemented in 2010, the most significant changes in the healthcare system began in 2013 with the expansion of Medicaid. According to the ACA’s official website, the law’s main goals are to create cost efficient health insurance and medical services, as well as expand Medicaid so that the stated programs will be available to more Americans. (“Affordable Care Act (ACA)”). To do so, the ACA imposed many requirements on both sides of the health care system. The ACA has expanded federal regulations on private insurance providers by requiring that these companies cannot deny coverage based on the health of the beneficiary. The ACA has also established a marketplace for health insurance to be purchased by small businesses and individuals. Finally, the most noteworthy reform is the requirement for all Americans to purchase minimum coverage, or pay a penalty. However, those who cannot afford coverage and have “an income below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level eligible for Medicaid” will be paid for by the government (“The Affordable Care Act in the US”).

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 expanded access to health insurance in the United States to millions of uninsured individuals. Early findings indicate that there have been significant reductions in the rate of uninsured among the poor and working age adults. Consequently, the number of adults who did not get needed health care because of cost declined as well as the number of adults who reported problems paying their medical bills. Hpwever, despite the many advances the Affordable Care Act provided towards health care reform, there are still flaws to the system.

The author compares the specific goals and claims of the Affordable Care Act with the actual experiences in the areas of its implementation. The assessment is made in terms of access, costs and affordability, and quality of care provided. The article uses secondary data to present the perimeters of the assessment. According to the findings, affordable healthcare cost has not been realized and over 37 million Americans are likely to remain uninsured even after full implementation of ACA in 2019. More millions are likely to remain underinsured as profiteering will dominate the culture of healthcare in the US. The author notes that there is need to address the for-profit and bureaucracy in the US healthcare system and concludes by laying out benefits and economic, moral and sociopolitical lessons from ACA within the first five

Healthcare in the United States is in a crisis situation. Healthcare costs are rising to the point where people are required to pay their health insurance premiums and deductibles over having enough money to cover groceries to feed the family. It seems our government is at odds in terms of the success with the Affordable Care Act and the outcomes we are witnessing from its’ implementation in our country. Many Americans understand the incentives of having healthcare insurance coverage and the benefits it can provide. With so many more individuals entering the healthcare insurance marketplace due to the guidelines of the Affordable Care Act we also see an impact to the supply and demand of healthcare availability and healthy outcomes.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the most significant health care legislation reform in the United States since the passing of Medicare and Medicaid (Russell Sage Foundation, n.d.). Changes in healthcare delivery affect consumers, insurance companies, healthcare providers, and policy makers. Several factors provoked this monumental change in health care. Social, political, and economic forces drive change in the United States healthcare system. Within these categories, scarcity, a changing demography, and interests groups have a profound influence on how we view health care and which policies are enacted.

Health insurance and the affordable care act is a major topic in the United States today. This being said, there are many questions that run through one’s mind when the topic is discussed. Questions such as, what exactly is health insurance? What is the Aetna-Humana merge, and how beneficial is it? Should healthy citizens help pay for citizens with prior known health issues? Should people with preexisting conditions even have the option to purchase insurance to help cover medical cost? Although the Affordable Care Act has been in effect for a few years now, there are still some problems today the health insurers face because of this law.

The United States spends twice as much per citizen for health insurance as any other country in the entire world, but continues to fall behind other countries when it comes to coverage and quality (Rangel, 2011). There are nearly forty-six million uninsured Americans, and millions more have inadequate coverage. The affordable health care act, was designed to help millions of Americans. But, to Americans it is questionable at best. Obamacare is so fundamentally inconsistent that it is taking Americans in the opposite direction of the necessary reforms needed. The root cause for our health care system include misaligned reimbursement policies and incentives, lack of integrated patient care process, and poorly coordinated patient care treatment (Health Care Delivery System Reform, 2015). America cannot build sustainable health reform on a dysfunctional health care system. The United States needs to get rid of Obamacare and pass a new comprehensive reform that makes health care affordable for families, businesses, and the government.

As humans in a developed society, it is necessary to have the ability to seek medical attention; however, we must also probe how we as a civilization will provide and appropriately finance these services. The United States has taken the approach to subsidize medical services with medical insurance, in conjunction with other programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. This approach, however, leaves many holes whereas many may not be able to afford medical insurance, and therefore may not be able to see the medical attention that they require. The question in focus is not whether people have the right to medical insurance, and subsequently medical care, but how we deliver this necessary priority. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s, (PPACA, ACA), intention was to mend the holes in our current health insurance industry. By requiring larger business to offer their employees’ health insurance, and mandating that individuals purchase health insurance, or face a fine, and allowing children to remain on their parent insurance plan until the age of 26, it decreased the number of those who were lacking medical insurance. While it successfully corrected many of the urgent issues the United States’ health insurance industry faced, it also failed to amend other major dilemmas and created new, pressing issues; the PPACA has led to increased costs, dwindling competition within the health insurance market all while violating the constitution.

The health care industry is constantly evolving and is one of the most complex industries in modern business. Changes in the health care is influenced by political forces, the economy, and advancements of technology. The demand for improved access to high quality health care services and the number of the uninsured population have increased the need for political forces to intervene to ensure equal access to affordable health care. Political forces establish the laws and policies that have shaped the delivery of health care for the population in an effort to improve access and quality while emphasizing cost containment. For example, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2009 increased access to health care by making health insurance affordable for the insured and uninsured,

Access to healthcare in the United States is dependent on having some means to finance the services. Usually this is accomplished through the use of health insurance with or without some share of cost. There are different forms of insurance coverage, such as public insurance, like Medicare and Medicaid, or private insurance obtained by individuals through their workplace or in the open market. Another way to fund healthcare access is with personal funds if an individual is able to afford the cost (Shi & Singh, 2015). One of the problems with healthcare in the United States is the number of people without insurance. As many as 50 million people did not have insurance prior to the Affordable Care Act (Geyman, 2015). As Shi and Singh (2015) note, some of these individuals may still be able to receive healthcare services through emergency room visits or free clinics although this method of obtaining health care is not without difficulties.

One of the greatest issues facing the nation today is the number of people who do not have access to health care coverage. Americans are struggling to pay medical bills and are accumulating medical debt at an alarming rate. Approximately two-thirds of the working-age population are uninsured or underinsured and did not seek health care due to the cost. “More than two in five adults in the 19-to-64 age group reported problems paying medical bills” (Quality of Care, 2010). Their difficulties include not being able to afford medical attention when needed, running up medical debts, dealing with collection agencies about unpaid bills, or having to change their lifestyle to repay medical debts. Health-care costs are limiting what the

Under the current healthcare reform bill HR-4872, there are several stipulations that will benefit everyone. The proposed bill eliminates the “Pre-existing Condition” clause that insurance companies have been manipulating around for many years. How many people have been stuck in dead end jobs, unable to further their career for the fear of being denied insurance coverage due to a pre-existing condition. The bill (HR-4872) also makes purchasing health coverage affordable. Under the current American system, the health insurance providers can pass on rate increases to the consumers without regard to the clients ability to pay or their after taxes income. It is estimated that healthcare insurance costs have increased as much as 18 – 25% over just the past three years alone. This dramatic increase in premium expenses has put healthcare insurance out of the reach of millions of Americans.