The Impact of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Public Health Services
HSAD 500
Brian M. Mwesigwa
Eastern Washington University – Master of Public Health
Abstract
Attempts for nearly a century in America have failed to establish the principle that every American is entitled to affordable and effective health insurance coverage regardless of their income or health status. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 has made this legislation possible. A range of its provisions are designed to expand insurance coverage, target prevention and control costs, which consequently improves population-level health outcomes in all income groups. As a result, the burdens imposed on the
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When you become uninsured you have limitations in health coverage that could impair affordability and use of needed care (Sonfield, et.al, 2013). Under the new provisions of the PPACA, some of the practices that have been common in the private insurance market such as annual and lifetime limits on coverage and also limitation because of preexisting medical conditions or even gender rating (charging high premiums to women than men) will be eliminated (Sonfield, et.al, 2013)
The PPACA permits young adults aged up to 26 years old to have health insurance without having to be under the plan of their parents’ private health plan (Cantor, et.al, 2012). This provision has led to a significant increase in the number of young adults with health insurance and also a reduction in their uninsured rate. There has been a 25 percent increase in the number of young adults with non-spousal dependent coverage and a nearly 10 percent drop in their uninsured rate between 2009 and 2010. This decline in the uninsured translates to about 716,000 young adults who have been able to access health insurance. This high enrolment and decline in the uninsured young adults is attributed to the public awareness of the PPACA (Cantor, et.al, 2012).
However, there could be financial implications particularly on family premiums which means that there could be a possibility of an increase in the family premiums because of the fact that more young
The Affordable Care Act otherwise known as Obamacare or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law in March 2010 and it has not been without its share of problems, debates and controversies. One of the main points of the debates and controversies with the PPACA has been the legality of the individual mandate. The individual mandate “requires that most Americans obtain and maintain health insurance, or an exemption, each month or pay a tax penalty” . The whole purpose of creating PPACA was to “achieve near-universal coverage and to do so through shared responsibility among government, individuals, and employers” and to be able to “improve the fairness, quality, and affordability of health insurance
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or ‘Obamacare’ in 2010 and its implementation in 2014,there has been a steady decline in the uninsured population of the United States of America. The number of Americans with health insurance, has reached a historic peak. According to recent data from the Census Bureau about health insurance coverage, the number of uninsured Americans fell from 33 million the year prior to ACA implementation to 29 million in 2014.The total uninsured rate dropped by more than 4 percent since the health care law took effect. The ACA has significantly reduced the number of Americans who were not able to acquire health insurance due to poverty, unemployment, or having a pre-existing condition.
The vulnerability of the uninsured population originates from that they are less likely to use health care services and have poor health as a result ("The Uninsured ", 2010). Furthermore, the number of the uninsured has constantly increased every year as a reflection of the decrease in the rate of employer-funded insurance. These rates continue to decline regardless of increases in public coverage and the ongoing implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act until 2014.
According to research done by Westover et. al (2013), the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) created a greater future role for state Medicaid health plans and necessitates more efficient health care coverage. Low-income individuals have the need for more frequent medical attention than previously insured patients. Gaps in health care coverage, whether partial or full year gaps, have been linked to adults with serious, chronic health conditions. According to research done by Gulley, Rasch, and Chan (2011), among all working-aged adults, 28 million (16%) remained uninsured for all 12 months, and an additional 21 million (12%) reported part year coverage. The goal of the health care reform was to eventually provide equal care coverage and quality to all Americans.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a legislation designed to extend coverage to the uninsured, eliminate practices that include rescission and denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and lower health care costs. Moreover, the PPACA provides incentives to businesses to offer health insurance or impose penalties on business that do not provide coverage, and require individuals without health insurance to purchase reasonably priced polices through health insurance exchanges (Martocchio, 2014, p. 143). This health reform legislation was taken into effect in 2010, and is expected to complete implementation over the next few years.
My understanding of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) is average to above average and specifically how it affects me and other individuals. According to Kaiser (2013) the main component of PPACA is most individuals and legal residents are required to have health insurance. To accomplish the goal of reducing the 40 million uninsured is for Medicaid expands to 133% of the federal poverty level (Lammers, n.d.). Next, adult individuals whom are 26 years of age or younger can be covered under their parents’ insurance plan and children and adults can’t be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
The number of Americans who do not have health insurance has grown rapidly over the years. The high cost of premiums implemented by insurance companies is regarded as one of the leading causes of this problem. Some people are not financially competent to purchase the insurance they need due to these prices. However, the PPACA health care reform assures to make health insurance coverage available to people who are legal residents of the US. Proof of insurance coverage is compulsory of all Americans while insurers are free to charge what they want. Coverage is universal under the new law, and it demands that all Americans obtain coverage. As of this year millions of
The framework of the PPACA allowed many individuals to receive better care. Implementing the PPACA was designed to profoundly enhance access to mental health services and expand coverage for uninsured Americans for federal agencies, businesses, states, and individuals. Health insurance corporations are unable to refuse coverage to anyone who has a pre-existing condition. When President Obama signed the PPACA into law, it was first and foremost intended to decrease the number of uninsured individuals in this nation. A vast proportion of Americans are covered through private insurances with an increase of 6.7 million newly enrolled citizens since 2014. In 2014, there was about 64% of Americans who was already covered through private insurances (Horgan et al., 2016). The PPACA provides an opportunity to bolster a broken mental health system that disproportionately ignores the needs of older adults.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(PPACA) will influence the public health care system by breaking down barriers and expanding health care coverage to everyone in need in order to receive the best quality of care. The Patient Protection and Affordable Act was signed into law March 23, 2010, the law required that all Americans have health insurance by 2014 or pay a tax penalty on their federal income taxes. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to greatly increase the amount of Americans who are uninsured and give them the ability to receive affordable health insurance. According to Martin, (2014) “as of January 1, 2014 all children, parents and childless adults who are not entitled to Medicare and who have family
Care is more assessable to everyone through the act. According to the article, 137 million Americans with private health coverage have gotten better preventive services coverage as a result. In addition, many of America’s young adult population goes without health insurance until the age of 26. Young adults can now stay on their parents insurance plan until they are able to get their own coverage.
In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the PPACA) was enacted by Congress and signed into law by the President of the United States. The PPACA creates an opportunity to change the health insurance marketplace in order to provide all Americans with quality, affordable health insurance coverage. This program even though has received as a gift to some people, but it carries burden on providers and health care workers. The reason is that more information and education are available to consumers make it easy to catch medical error than before, which leads to more lawsuits against healthcare providers. Demand for health care services is increasing as the population ages, chronic diseases become more common, and medical
Signage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010, proved a significant milestone in reshaping health insurance, healthcare delivery, and reducing the population of uninsured persons (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2017). Although the PPACA serves as a step in the right direction in protecting the health of all Americans some provisions under the ACA are too burdensome given they place a financial strain on the states. Thus, many governors across the country grapple with the decision to participate in the expansion of Medicaid eligibility (Sommers & Epstein, 2013). Important to note, the desire to advance the health of populations is not without cost. Thus, as federal and state governments push for and support advances in
Health care has been a much need but problematic institution for the United States over the last several decades. Particularly private companies have been the main cause of high premiums and the denial of coverage for the previously ill. In attempts to remedy these issues congress in conjunction with the President of the United States Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The PPACA is a federal state that focused on the reformation of the private health insurance market, provide better coverage for those with existing conditions, and improve the conditions of Medicare. Within this statue there is the section 1501 mandate, the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision, which requires every citizen, besides
In 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed into law. This was done because millions of Americans went without healthcare coverage. They either did not qualify for government assistance through Medicare or Medicaid or could not afford to purchase it on the open market. Others, that had health insurance, could not afford to use it because the out of pocket costs were more than they could afford. Around the time that the ACA was being debated there were about 50 million Americans that had no health insurance (Stack, 2016). Additionally, the United States was and is spending more on healthcare than any other industrialized nation (Menzel, 2012). One would think that with increased spending came better health
The PPACA imposes an individual mandate requiring most U.S. citizens and legal residents to have health insurance coverage or pay a penalty. There are exceptions to this requirement for financial hardship, religious objections, American Indians, those without coverage for less than three months, incarcerated individuals, and certain low–income