U.s. Healthcare System Reform

A newest way to finance health care now days is the health care reform which it is also called Obama Care. The Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010. The main objective behind the Affordable Care Act was to ensure that affordable health care insurance was available to every U.S citizen. This law is an extensive document that contains many regulations and laws that relate not only to health care but also to the regulation of insurance companies. One of the best known regulations is that group health plans can no longer put limitations or deny benefits to individuals under the age of 19 due to pre-existing conditions and individuals under the age of 26, are now eligible to be covered under their parents’

The US pays twice as much yet lags other wealthy nations in such measures as infant mortality and life expectancy, which are among the most widely collected, hence easily compared, international statistics. Many people are underinsured, for example, in Colorado "of those with insurance for a full year, 36.3% were underinsured."[6][7] About 10.7 million insured Americans spend more than a quarter of their annual paychecks on health care because of the high deductible polices.[8]

The first characteristic of the US health care system is that there is no central governing agency which allows for little integration and coordination. While the government has a great influence on the health care system, the system is mostly controlled through private hands. The system is financed publically and privately creating a variety of payments and delivery unlike centrally controlled healthcare systems in other developed countries. The US system is more complex and less manageable than centrally controlled health care systems, which makes it more expensive. The second characteristic of the US health care system is that it is technology driven and focuses on acute care. With more usage of high technology,

Yet, our healthcare remain broken and threatens the financial well-being of America in the near future. At the conception of America’s healthcare system, the biggest issues concerning the management of American’s health were the methods of treatment, knowledge sharing among physicians and therapist, the lack of resources at the state and local level, and the true role of the Federal government. (Greg, 2010) The same issues haunt America’s healthcare system unto today. With healthcare cost growing more out of control, the question concerning how to best management America’s health has become increasingly relevant.

If there is one thing that most Americans are in agreement with, it is the vile shape of our U.S. health care system. There is no argument that the U.S. health care system is in need of an overhaul, however, there is much debate over just how to effectively go about the process. The public have voiced greatest concern in the health care areas of costs, quality and access. Many presidents have pondered the idea of health care reform; a few even made attempts to start the ball rolling. The first

The single most important impetus for healthcare reform throughout recent history has been rising costs (Sultz, 2006). In the book called The healing of America: a global quest for better, cheaper, and fairer health care, Reid wrote that the nation’s health care system has become excessively expensive, ineffective, and unjust. Among the world’s developed nations, the US ranks near the bottom for healthcare access and quality. However, the US ranks at the top for health expenditure as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and average of $7,400 per person (Reid, 2010). Therefore, Americans are spending

Healthcare reform in the United States (U.S.), continues to be a hot topic in the news. Whether it discusses how the program will be financed, the need to redesign the organization, or how the process of delivering healthcare will be implemented; one thing that is a frontrunner, is the need for registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to fill the increased demands on the primary care system (Institute of Medicine, & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011, p. 375). “Several programs and initiatives included in the health reform legislation involve interdisciplinary and cross-setting care coordination and care management services of RNs” (Institute of Medicine, & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011, p. 377).

In 2014, the US entered into the force sensational health care reform of the protection of patients in the United States, which is called The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under this reform, all the citizens and residents of the country are required to have health insurance. It has also caused many discussions and opinions among people. Supporters of it say that this is a significant step forward, since there is no company that can refuse a person in the insurance policy. However, opponents believe that this reform will only worsen the condition of the Americans. The current health care reform has its drawbacks, such as increased fees for insurance, and the impossibility of choice, therefore, it is necessary for change.

During the formation of the United States of America, the founding fathers had difficulty to agree on common issues due to their conflicting political stances. The intention of each political party is to form a solution that is in the best interest of the citizens in the U.S and of how to govern the US following its independence from Great Britain. It is safe to conclude that some Americans base their decisions on family affiliations rather than viewing each economic, social, and political problem differently to make an informed decision. The presidential nomination of then Senator Barack Obama marked the country's breakthrough in recent years during the 2008 election. Trends showed favoritism among the young, college-aged population when he ran for office his first time. He won their votes, along with other voters, based on general social and economic proposals he intends to solve. During the President's first and second term, his administration seeks to resolve the healthcare concern, a major political and economic problem, which is causing the country's deficit to swell. On March 23, 2010, President Obama (Whitehouse.gov, 2014) signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly known as "Obamacare," into law. Unfortunately, the United States of America have not come to a unanimous agreement about Obamacare. All together it seems not every person will approve every presidential decision in the country, but Obama’s health care act has sparked some more

While the United States delivers some of the best medical care in the world, there are major inefficiencies in our healthcare system. We have high rates of medical errors, millions without health insurance coverage, and lower utilization of advanced health information technology than most western European nations. It seems every time you turn on the evening news, you hear something about the healthcare system in American and how it is in shambles. Without question, one of the biggest challenges facing American citizens is our dysfunctional healthcare system.

The new healthcare reform act recently passed will be fully implemented by 2014. Every person living legally in the United States will be guaranteed, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (PPACA), healthcare insurance. Across the United States, primary care doctors are already preparing for the full impact this will have on their practices. In keeping with the promise made by President Obama, physicians are already planning to increase their hours while trying to maintain patient care.

Many Americans believe that their health care system is the finest in North America, and probably among the best in the world. This is not true. The American health care system ranked last out of 10 other developed countries’ systems, including Australia, Germany, Canada, France, Sweden, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, in a survey by the Commonwealth Fund in 2014 (Hellmann). Countries received ranks according to several factors, like access to a physician or quality of care (Hellmann). That same year, an estimated 42 million Americans under age 65 were without health insurance, according to a survey by the Congressional Budget Office (“Health Reform”). America also ranks 26th among 36 countries in the

The implementation of the healthcare reform to the people throughout the United States provides healthcare coverage to all Americans increasing the accessibility to quality healthcare coverage making it more affordable for families. Throughout this paper I will discuss how effective the healthcare reform has been for the state of Pennsylvania, describing what the positive and negative outcomes are, and how the it has impacted the community health within my state. I will further discuss what effects the health care reform has had on economics in health care within my state.

Health care in the United States needs to be reformed to be more equitable to all citizens regardless of their race and financial situation. Those in charge of reforming health care should consider the principles of social justice outlined in Catholic social teaching as guidelines for ethical health care reform. Those principles are: the dignity of human beings, the common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. These four social-justice principles provide a foundation for a virtuous and economically sound improvement in medical resource allocation; a Christian prescription for health care reform. It is clear that we have a duty to improve access, affordability, and quality of care for all citizens because of their human dignity. Frequently missing from the discussion of health care reform is the role of personal responsibility. Pope Benedict XVI has emphasized the point: “In the name of freedom, there has to be a correlation between rights and duties, by which every person is called to assume responsibility for his or her choices” (Reid, 32). Health care should be available to everyone regardless of work status, financial situation, race, gender or theological views.

Health care reform in the United States has a long history. Reforms have often been proposed but have rarely been accomplished.Future reforms of the American health care system continue to be proposed, with notable proposals including a single payer system and a reduction in fee for service medical care.