The Problem Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act

The U.S. healthcare system is remarkably complex, and even healthcare workers struggle to understand it. The U.S. population gets health coverage by government programs, employers, and private insurance. Notably, because of the complexity and fragmentation of the health care system, there is a percentage of the population that remains uninsured. According to CNN Money, the uninsured rate in the U.S. dropped from 18.2% in 2010 to 10.3% in 2016, this drop was under Affordable Care Act(ACA) (). The goal of the ACA was not to give health coverage to all the uninsured population, rather it was to try to decrease the percentage of the population that remained uninsured(). There is a lot of inequality in the distribution of health among the U.S. population

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March of 2010. This law provides equal access to medical care, lowered health care costs and eliminates denial of coverage of pre-existing conditions to the millions of the uninsured and insured Americans that were without and denied health care coverage. Patients who were denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions can now look forward to relief and great improvement because their illness is covered in the new policy, and care is now provided for them at next to minimal cost (Stehly,

Rising health insurance premiums have made healthcare unaffordable in the United States. Health insurance premiums in this country have undergone a steady rise over the past few years while incomes have remained the same. More than 50% of individuals with low incomes holding private insurance in the United States are unable to afford their healthcare costs (Collins, Gunja, Doty & Buetel, 2015). In addition, costs related to healthcare are equally unaffordable to 25% of working-age individuals who hold private health insurance policies (Collins et al., 2015). According to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust (Kaiser/HRET) survey on employer health benefits, employer-sponsored health insurance plans have also had moderate rises in premiums in 2013 for both individuals and family coverage (Claxton et al., 2013). While

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.

Before the Affordable Care Act, 50.7 million Americans (16.7 percent) were uninsured. The main reason for this was money. The majority of these uninsured American families simply couldn’t afford health insurance and those who did have insurance spent a good chunk of their income to pay for it. The percentage of Americans who were covered by employment-based health insurance (the most popular form of insurance at the time) was the lowest it had been since 1987 when the first statistics on

As the implementation of The Affordable Care Act (ACA) nears, news media is featuring a large number of individuals whose health insurance coverage is being cancelled. The current administration claims that their objective is for everyone to have health insurance, but there is a gap between their new legislation and the results. American consumers are falling in the gap between private insurance plans that are too expensive, and the poorly developed government system. Despite claims from the Obama administration, the Affordable Care Act limits the American public’s choice of private health insurance plans.

This paper explores the flaws within the healthcare system in America that was passed as the Affordable Care Act and Patient Protection Act (PPACA); although, the intent behind the act was meant to do no harm, it seems as if the Affordable Care Act did more harm than good within the majority of the population. There are many sides to any issue, especially concerning the healthcare system within the United States, but based off of research, statistics, and articles one can obviously perceive it to be a good effort upon the American government. Questions arise upon efficiency from a physical/quality perspective of the American people, and also the monetary aspect. As stated, the issue of the Affordable Care Act is somewhat controversial and the politics of the subject are rarely black and white, but an objective view upon the issue is necessary to fully appreciate the act and constructively analyze the issue at hand, and the concerns that arose due to the act. Signed into the law on March 23rd, 2010 by President Barack Obama were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA was expected to revolutionize American healthcare insurance security by expanding healthcare coverage, lowering insurance costs, improving the quality of medical care, etc., but it seemed to have done just the opposite. One can surely assume that the intent behind the healthcare innovation was completely genuine; however, one certainty can observe the issues following the ACA and Patient

Patient protection and affordable care act was enacted in 2010 with the main purpose of minimizing the cost, improving the obtainability and affordability of health insurance. Uninsured rate will decreased at a faster rate.. It will achieve healthcare reachability to as many people as by extending public and private insurance. The Affordable act has included following: any one with pre-existing condition can not be denied of coverage, children under 26 may be eligible for coverage under their parents insurance, insurance companies can not cancel your coverage due to withdrawals.

The rising cost of health care has led companies to stop offering health insurance for employees, and private insurance is often too expensive for people to afford. Many families make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but are unable to pay for private health insurance. Health care costs in the United States have more than doubled in the last twenty years. Insurance premiums are rising five times faster than wages, and Americans are spending more money on health care than people in any other country. The average amount one person pays per year for health care in the United States is 134 times higher than the average of other industrialized countries (“Health Care Issues”). Even people who have insurance aren’t guaranteed coverage. Many insurance companies find loopholes to avoid paying for expensive medical treatment, leaving people with massive debt from medical bills. Medical bills and illness cause over half of all personal bankruptcies in the United

“But insurers in many counties are offering such a dizzying array of health insurance plans with so many subtle differences that consumers have struggled to determine which plan is best for them” (Pear, 2015). One of the attractive features of affordable coverage is the low monthly premium. With these attractive numbers, some people might even choose to give up their employer coverage to save the extra money. Naturally, consumers would most likely be fond with the low premiums rather than the quality of the plan. However, low premium is only worth the price that is paid for. The high deductibles lie within these low cost plans could cost the patients a fortune when they receiving the care. As this happen, the Affordable Care Act is no longer serve its purpose in helping to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance as well as reducing the cost of healthcare. Instead, the Obama Care only succeeds in reducing uninsured rate of the population. The lack of understanding about the healthcare coverage could become financially burden to the consumers’ family if they choose to use the plan.

Public policy, such as subsidies in the form of tax credits for the purchase of health plans through the exchanges, have been in existence since the inception of the ACA, but one could contend that this falls short on many fronts. Subsidy thresholds and amounts are simply too low and premium costs too high for many middle-income earners to make ends meet. In some cases people would rather risk going without insurance and pay the penalty, than pay for a plan they can’t afford to use anyway (Bernard,

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.

Problem: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) leaves coverage gaps for millions of Americans. The ACA focuses on individuals without insurance, but in the meantime, increases the spread in those underinsured. Before the ACA the number of adults underinsured age 19-64 in 2010 was, 16 percent, or 29 million (The New Health Care). New estimates in 2014 indicate that 23 percent of adults 19-64 who were insured, or 31 million, had such high out-of-pocket costs or deductibles relative to their incomes that they were underinsured (The Problem of Underinsurance). “The share of continuously insured adults with high deductibles has tripled, rising from 3 percent in 2003 to 11 percent in 2014. Half (51%) of underinsured adults reported problems with medical bills or debt and more than two of five (44%) reported not getting needed care because of cost” (The Problem of Underinsurance). The goals of the ACA are accessibility and affordability to healthcare coverage and treatment, so why has the number of underinsured increased?

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is legislation President Barack Obama passed in 2010. The PPACA seeks to reform healthcare throughout the United States of America by expanding coverage, containing healthcare associated costs, and improving healthcare quality (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013). The PPACA has many implications both at the federal and state level that are important to note, which are more fully appreciated within the context of client health or financial outcomes. With that in mind, the health status of Minnesota will be explored in-depth with an emphasis on health disparities before an overview and critique of the PPACA is provided. The

Public Insurance has always lacked support, and it has left millions without health insurance. The number of people without it has been increasing mostly through economic downturns. Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, millions of people in the United States still lack health insurance coverage. “The ACA reforms Medicare, and is often nicknamed Obamacare.” (The Affordable Care Act). Some people are ineligible for financial assistance for private coverage, some still find coverage unaffordable even with the financial assistance. The questions that will be answered in this paper will be: What is happening to insurance coverage before the ACA, how did health coverage change under the ACA, and does the ACA work, is it enough, what else needs to be done?