Universal Health Care Act, Providing Millions Of Americans

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Healthcare Act into law. It had been estimated that 30 million people would sign up for the new healthcare act. As of April 15, 2015 the actual number of people that have signed up is 11,776,046 which is a far cry from what was predicted. Within the healthcare system all across the United States things are changing. How will the Affordable Healthcare Act impact the healthcare system within the United States? This paper will address what the Affordable Healthcare Act is first and then

The issue of universal health care taking over the present health care system has become a heated topic all over America. With President Obama’s promise to pass a bill that will give government

Healthcare has always been a topic of great interest among the American people. Previous attempts have been made to implement a healthcare system that benefits all Americans; however, the mandate of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s has been the closest resemblance of universal healthcare system. In March of 2010, the President Barak Obama signed the most significant legislation for the U.S. healthcare system, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as the Obamacare. This law was introduced to improve the quality and affordability for the health insurance industry. This act would also minimize the insurance rates for the uninsured as well as expand coverage. At the passage

Healthcare costs in the United States have been rising for several years and show no sign of stopping. In 2008, the United States spent on 2.3 trillion on healthcare, more than three times the $714 billion spent in 1990, and over eight times the $253 billion spent in 19801. Although the large amount of money invested in healthcare does translate to better care for Americans, the worsening economic situation, rising costs, and federal government’s deficit have placed a great strain on the system. This includes private employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a private and non-profit healthcare analysis organization, “in 2008, U.S. health care spending was about $7,681 per resident and accounted for 16.2% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP); this is among the highest of all industrialized countries”1. Concerns for the enormous strain on the financial systems that fund healthcare and the desperate need to provide adequate healthcare for Americans have driven many a President since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, to seek some type of healthcare reform and universal healthcare for all Americans. President Barack Obama succeeded where many had failed and on March 23, 2010, a national health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law. On March 31, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new rules

Before the 23rd of March 2010 having health insurance was optional for all Americans. On March 23rd of 2010 Obama’s health care reforms timeline began. The health care reform is also called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for short. The affordable care act should “provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending…” (Healthcare). Obama’s new health care plan is forcing all Americans to get health insurance and those who don’t get health insurance will be penalized when filing taxes. The health care reform has now taken full effect on the people of the United States, so we have citizens who are excited about the reform, and we also have citizens who are upset about the reform.

The US healthcare system is currently undergoing what is arguably its biggest change since its enactment in 1935 with the Social Security Act. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barack Obama in an attempt to bring cost free preventative care to all American citizens. And while this may sound like good news since it will help take care of the 54 million Americans that were uninsured in 2010 when this Act was signed (Kocher 2010) not all of these changes to the healthcare system are beneficial. Many citizens will find themselves penalized by the fees and requirements of the ACA, along with many others

Health care reform and access to insurance have been staples of the American political agenda ever since the end of World War II. From President Truman’s call for universal coverage in the late 1940’s to the creation of Medicaid and Medicare to the Affordable Care Act, both parties have debated how to lower the rate of uninsured Americans. After nearly 70 years of debate in Washington and beyond, the number of Americans with health insurance has certainly grown (Miller, 2014). However, the number of people in the United States without coverage is still unacceptably high and a problem that should be addressed with a great deal of urgency and care.

Health care in the United States is driven by a patchwork of services and financing. Americans access health care services in a variety of ways — from private physicians’ offices, to public hospitals, to safety-net providers. This diverse network of health care providers is supported by an equally diverse set of funding streams. The United States spends almost twice as much on health care as any other country, topping $2 trillion each year. (WHO.INT 2000) However, even with overall spending amounting to more than $7,400 per person, millions of individuals cannot access the health care services they need.(Foundation 2009) So when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a the Affordable Care Act or ACA) was passed in the summer

When attempting to determine the benefits and the negatives associated with national health care in the United States, one inevitably must discern the projected impact of the Affordable Care Act. This act was signed into being by the current president in 2010, and triumphed in a Supreme Court Decision in 2012 in which its legality was upheld as constitutional (No author). The chief aims of this particular piece of legislation are to increase accessibility to health care for Americans, primarily by lowering costs associated with it. It will fully take effect in 2014, by which time citizens will have a variety of options of obtaining health care either through a state subsidy, through Medicaid, or through one's employer or a private plan. Those who do not have health care by this point will be assessed a fine; certain employers who do not offer health care may also be assessed a fine. A thorough analysis of the boons and the detriments of this form of national health care reveals that it is beneficial to the country as a whole.

There are Currently 32 million people without health insurance in the United States. This means that roughly 83 per cent of citizens have to live day by day hoping they won’t get sick. For this reason, President Obama signed the U.S health reform bill into law. The health reform will make health care more affordable for citizens. Employers with more than 50 employees will be forced to provide coverage for all, or they will have to pay a fine. It will also make health insures more responsible. For example, health insurance carriers are forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions, and from canceling policies because someone gets sick. It will also expand

U.S. health care reform is currently one of the most heavily discussed topics in health discourse and politics. After former President Clinton’s failed attempt at health care reform in the mid-1990s, the Bush administration showed no serious efforts at achieving universal health coverage for the millions of uninsured Americans. With Barack Obama as the current U.S. President, health care reform is once again a top priority. President Obama has made a promise to “provide affordable, comprehensive, and portable health coverage for all Americans…” by the end of his first term (Barackobama.com). The heated debate between the two major political parties over health care reform revolves around how to pay for it and more importantly, whether it

On March 23, 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed by President Obama, raising the question for many of whether this new law was going to be more helpful or hurtful. With universal healthcare, healthcare coverage would be increased tremendously, costs would be reduced, jobs would be created, and consumers would be protected. Conversely, it will also raise taxes and wait times, lead to a smaller number of doctors, and infringe on some employers’ 1st amendment rights. Presenting both arguments for and against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allows one to draw a conclusion on whether the new program will benefit or hinder the citizens of the United States.

The Affordable Care Act is something that many Americans are extremely opinionated yet highly uneducated on. As future healthcare professionals it is extremely important to understand the legislature that affects us all as well as the patients that we serve. The Affordable Care Act is one of the most recent attempts to reform the healthcare industry by providing more affordable, high quality health insurance to Americans. The Affordable Care Acts aims to reduce premium and out-of-pocket costs for tens of millions of families and small business owners who had not had access to coverage in the past. This helps over 32 million Americans afford health care who could not get it before – and makes coverage more affordable for many more. Under this plan, 95% of Americans will be insured. In 2013 over 15% of Americans were without insurance. This paper will further discuss the background of the need for this Act as well as how this will affect the lives of present and future healthcare professionals.

Currently the United States has the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. It’s plan is to help individuals have affordable health care coverage. However, it has raised some red flags. “ The AMA is against it, AARP is against it, the American Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Catholic Health Association of the United States and the Children's Hospital Association are all against it” (“Republican”). To replace Obamacare, many politicians in the democratic and liberal parties are pushing for Universal Health Care.

In March 23rd 2010, the Obama administration enacted a major development of federal health care policy. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly dubbed “Obamacare”, was planned to guarantee that millions of Americans who could not afford health insurance would have access to at least basic coverage. The law sought to make access to health care universal: it required individuals without insurance to purchase insurance (individual mandate), it required businesses to provide insurance (employer mandate), it set up insurance pools to allow those without care to purchase inexpensive insurance (healthcare exchanges), it required states to extend their Medicaid coverage (Medicaid expansion clause), and it forbade insurance