The Legacy Of Health Insurance

Health insurance comes as second nature to many of us. We grab that blue and white card and put it in our wallet and forget about it until we are sick or injured. When this happens, there it is, cushioning our fall like the extra padding it provided to cushion our wallets. This is not the case with everyone, however. Many Americans have no cushion to fall back on, no blue and white card to show the emergency room when they have an unexpected health concern. No HMO with a convenient co-pay amount when their son or daughter develops an ear infection.

rehend the PPACA, one must understand the history of the United States’ health care system. The most successful and known reform would be the passage of Medicare and Medicaid. President Johnson’s main objective with his program was to provide health insurance to those over 65 years old, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive coverage due to retirement or being financially unfit to purchase health insurance. It has since been expanded to cover those with disabilities, and lower income families (“Overview,” 2015). Brady (2015) examines President Clinton’s attempt to massively overhaul health care in the United States. His plan, the Health Security Act (HSA), required employers to offer health insurance to their employees, and mandated that every US citizen purchase health insurance. This plan would have most likely expand health insurance to many more Americans; however, many feared the large tax increases, restricted options for patients, and with the lack of general support for the bill, it failed in Congress and was never implemented (p. 628). President Clinton’s failed attempt at health care reform opened up the door to future reforms, and it even shared multiple similarities to the PPACA. Smith (2015) updates the history of the health care system in America stating that “In the mid-2000s, America’s uninsured population swelled to nearly 47 million, representing about 16 percent of the population” and how “16 million Americans […] were underinsured” (p. 2). People

In 1954, Congress passed legislation allowing employers to provide health insurance benefits to employees on a tax-free basis (Sih and Singh 99). This legal provision marked the beginning of the rapidly expanding health care costs still apparent today due to the major incentives provided by the government to obtain employer-based health coverage. The overwhelming popularity of employer-based health insurance has led to a serious market inefficiency resulting from the system of third-party payment. As individuals rely on their insurance companies to pay for their medical expenses, this provides

Long time ago, there was no need for health insurance in America, as doctors had many clients because their services were not so expensive and in some cases in rural areas, people could pay by giving other items. Doctors were not as knowledgeable as they are nowadays to care for the sick, therefore this didn't have much effect then on the patients, as they were treated for the basic illnesses.

A series of events has recently occurred to cause the passage of PPACA. Economics are explicitly linked to health care. In the United States, health care coverage is provided primarily through an employer-based system. This system began in the depression era when pay was federally frozen. Companies, in an attempt to lure scarce workers, used benefits packages including health care as bait. Described as a “uniquely American” “private social security” health care system, the employer-sponsored system is the “cornerstone” of United States health care system (Blumenthal, 2006). This system has left many un- or under-insured. Blumenthal states (2006), “The United States’ dependence on employer-sponsored insurance means that the protection of its citizens against the costs of illness depends directly on the ability of private businesses to manage and absorb health care expenses that have defied all efforts to contain them.” Recently, economic downturn and the need to reduce expenses to better compete on the global market has caused many companies to both reduce their insurance benefits package and their work force causing many to lose their health care coverage. The employer-based system merged with the economic downturn, unaffordable health care costs for businesses, and

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

Health insurance began in the 1930’s when the Great Depression hit the United States. After the great depression it became very noticeable that health coverage was needed to protect the people and get them the health care treatment they needed. Too many people were dying of sickness and not able to afford the treatment. It wasn’t until the government tried to create some type of insurance to help with these costs. Medicare was created in 1965 for the elderly citizens. At that time there was also commercial and private insurance for Americans. “For years, clinicians have advocated for health insurance coverage for all Americans. Now, through the Affordable Care Act, the nation is one step closer to this goal. October 1, 2013, marks the

For too long, the American public was held hostage by predatory insurance companies. These companies used their power and privilege to keep their companies afloat while ensuring that much needed medical care was out of reach for a majority of the American public. Citizens were subjected to rules, regulations and policies that proved to be detrimental to their needs. Individuals with pre-existing medical conditions were denied care or were made to pay very expensive premiums. Policies were cancelled if additional medical conditions were identified and policies offering the bare minimum of coverage, were expensive preventing individuals from being able to afford health insurance. Americans over the age of 50 found it impossible to obtain quality insurance without paying way too much in premiums. Policies were denied for reasons that benefitted the insured. The result was that many Americans were uninsured, underinsured and when medical situations occurred, citizens were not able to obtain the proper treatment and care. This also placed a strain on the economy because individuals would go to the emergency rooms for treatment and not pay their bills resulting in the increase in premiums. The cycle continued, with bills not paid and premiums increased. This caused the

In the beginning of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the “healthcare system” was left in the hands of the states, which the states handed off to private and voluntary programs to deal with. In the presidential term of Teddy Roosevelt, 1901-1909, he felt that “no country could be strong whose people were sick and poor.” (Palmer 1999) He did however back health insurance as a whole. Roosevelt was not the one fighting for the health care though, there were outside forces that impacted health care. The American Association of Labor Legislation (AALL) led the campaign for health insurance. They drafted their first bill by 1915. This bill wanted to limit the coverage toward the working class and anyone who earned less than $1,200 a year including dependents. The American Medical Association (AMA) backed this bill because they felt the same way about coverage. The AMA did not speak for all doctors and those who opposed this backing spoke up. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) opposed the bill because they felt that it would weaken the unions and they wanted to maintain their strength. The private insurance

The current system of healthcare in the US evolved from a circumstantial set of laws passed during World War II. Because wages were limited by law, employers resorted to fringe benefits as a means for attracting top talent. Healthcare plans existed prior to the conflict, but due to the war, these plans became an ingrained national phenomenon (Blumberg and Davidson). Tying health insurance to employment proved problematic because the unemployed, or self-employed, often lacked coverage. Around the beginning of the 1970s, increases in healthcare costs began to diverge from the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This trend has only increased since then and has

Many people in the United States at some point in their life pay for health insurance or health care. Usually the people who pay for health insurance is either retired from work or are in their primes with children to care for. There are many other kinds of health care associations in the U.S., but there’s a major health insurance cooperation in today’s society that is causing problems in America’s economy and causing major drops in unemployment rates everywhere in the U.S., named after the 44th president of the United States of America, President Barack Obama, Obamacare is a type of health care system that is outrageously expensive and money consuming, putting Americans into serious debt. It had once been seen as a plan to help Americans

As discussed in lecture (Paterniti, 2009) and in Oberlander’s analysis of the U.S. health care system, “any reform that threatens to alter the medical care arrangements of the insured is likely to provoke public opposition” (2003). Most likely, the insured are well off financially and/or politically powerful. These people, who are for the most part content with their current health insurance, would oppose

Currently, the issue of health insurance has been a bone of contention for the public regarding whether the United States government should provide this health plan or not. People often possess different perspectives and refer to pros and cons on both sides of the spectrum. While some believes a universal healthcare system will set a foundation for a lower quality of service, increasing governmental finance deficit, and higher taxes, others do not hold the same thought. A universal healthcare system brings enormous advantages rather than disadvantages, such as all-inclusive population coverage, convenient accessibility, low time cost, and affordable medical cost, all of which not only provide minimum insurance to the disadvantaged but also improve the efficiency of medical resources distribution.

Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century the United States has always had a realization that there was a problem with obtaining affordable health insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare, was signed into law in March 2010. This law enables people who were unable to afford healthcare the ability to obtain a healthcare plan at an affordable rate. In 2009 a survey was taken as to the amount of people in the United States that carried health insurance. In table one below you can see over 50 million people in the United States did not have any type of insurance, which is close to 17 percent of the population (see table 1 below). “According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “32%

Most of all the U.S. citizens need a more privately owned insurance to cover the cost of medical care services. Group health insurance purchased by employers were introduced originally during World War II, when wages froze it caused employers to offer benefits such as a way to compete for workers. Nearly every amend since the early 1970s has desired to grow this concept of things. There are now currently more than 1200 privately owned insurance companies in America. Public insurance is provided for the poor that can’t afford good healthcare (Medicaid) and for those over age sixty-five (Medicare). The Medicare system administers medical coverage for those who are at the age 65 and older. In addition, younger people with disabling illnesses or injuries are suitable for Medicare coverage. Those who are under age 65, but do not have health insurance are too poor to afford it and are eligible for medical coverage through Medicaid. Medicare is financed by federal income taxes, while Medicaid is funded by a blend of state and federal taxes. Medical insurance for those who can't seem to get it anywhere else is actually paid for by the more prosperous citizens, basically the rich and well paid citizens. It is paid not directly, but through work and taxes that they pay