Week 5 Case Study
HSM 544
Healthcare Industry
The American health care industry is one of the nation's largest and most profitable industries (Healthcare, 2011). The American healthcare industry "has consistently increased its share of GDP from only 7.2% in 1970 to more than 16.0% in 2008" and that figure is still growing (Van Horn, 2010). It is also one of the few American industries that is expected to grow in the next few decades. In fact, the healthcare industry in America is expected to generate 3.2 million new jobs through the year 2018, which is more than any other American industry (Healthcare, 2011). This industry includes everything "from small-town private practices of physicians who employ only one medical assistant to busy
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and out-of-pocket consumer expenditures account for another 14 percent" (Morrisey, 2008). The remaining 5% is unpaid for, due to factors such as poverty, loss of work and insurance coverage, death, or bankruptcy.
The debate regarding government involvement in the health care industry often centers on issues such as quality and cost of care versus the lack of care for the millions who fail to qualify for government assistance, are turned away by private insurance due to chronic illness or other factors, or who work for employers who do not provide health insurance and cannot afford to purchase it alone. To help with this President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March 2010 to help ensure that all Americans were able to obtain some form of health care insurance (The Affordable, n.d.). The ACA requires private businesses to offer health insurance to employees or to pay a tax that will then be used by the government to create a pool for Americans who are uninsured to be able to purchase health insurance at an affordable rate (The Affordable, n.d.). Because ACA also requires individuals to purchase many states have filed cases asking courts to declare the ACA unconstitutional. While this issue has not yet been decided, the role of government in the health care industry is likely to change in the coming decades.
Two of the key reasons for this change are that Americans are aging rapidly and that Americans' are increasingly becoming poor. Both of these
In 2010, the United States created The Affordable Care Act (ACA). The objective was to share the responsibility of costs between the government, individuals, and employers to provide affordable access to quality health insurance. “However, health coverage remains fragmented, with numerous private and public sources, as well as wide gaps in insured rates across the U.S. population.” (“United States: International Health Care System Profiles,” n.d.). Each individual state within the US, generally has control over private insurance.
President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010. This law puts in place widespread health insurance reforms that expanded out over the last 4 years and continues to change the lives of many Americans today. Health care reform has been an extensively debated topic for multiple years, and the ACA is the first effective attempt at passing a law aiming to make health care not only affordable, but accessible for all individuals. The law impacts many Americans including, children, employers, government programs which includes federal and state, health plans and private insurers, health care coverage, health care cost, and the quality of care received. The main goal of the law is to expand health care coverage, broaden Medicaid eligibility, minimize and regulate health care cost, and improve the health care delivery system. In order to improve the health care delivery there have been new consumer protections established and an increase access to affordable care.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a topic of dispute since its introduction and continues to be discussed by politicians in the U.S. and throughout the world even after its passage. The Act has many opponents and is the cause of much controversy nationwide, primarily because it introduces higher healthcare costs for the richest citizens. Nevertheless, the ACA is an important stage in the American healthcare development process as it not only allows more people to receive healthcare services, but will also reduce the deficit. However, not everyone agrees. The policy is controversial in terms of cost vs. benefits, but the benefits ultimately outweigh the costs.
The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the most current governmental effort to bring a national health care plan to the United States (U.S.). Policy makers in the U.S. are hopeful the ACA will be able to extend health care coverage to 47 million nonelderly uninsured citizens (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). The ACA broadens the Medicaid eligibility for low income individuals at or below the 138% Federal Poverty Line (FPL) and adds tax credits to assist people to purchase insurance in the Health Insurance Marketplace (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). In 2012, the Supreme Court the upheld the constitutionality of the ACA requiring most people to maintain a minimum level of health insurance, however they left the
Understanding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can be problematic, the goal of the ACA is to address the fact that millions of Americans do not have health insurance, yet they are contributors to the health care market, consuming health care services for which they do not pay. While this may seem to be a great idea, many Americans are not really sure how they are affected by this Health Care Reform. The goal is to make health insurance affordable, secure, and reliable for all. The ACA is a minimum coverage provision, individuals are given health insurance by amending the tax code. There is an individual mandate which stipulates all non-exempt individuals must maintain a minimum level of insurance or pay a tax penalty. ACA extends Medicaid, states have to accept or they will not receive Federal funding. The act also includes an employer mandate to obtain health coverage for employees. The Affordable Care Act has changed the way health care is provided and the way individuals will participate (The Affordable Care Act Cases. (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2015)
One of our nation’s most controversial topics since the year 2009, and still continues to affect our country, is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The Law was designed to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and protect patients from abuse or discrimination. The Affordable Care Act affects, all Americans, either in a positive or negative way. It is an issue that has come to separated our congress, it has divided the republican and democratic parties, to the point where the Government was shut down.
The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) from being introduced in 2010 has not been well received by the public. Two main consequences are economic issues, and many states rejecting the act. Economic issues are relevant because it is assumed that insurance premiums are increased, rising cost increases during a recession, mandated benefits and other costs will be passed on to consumers and billions of dollars will be taken from seniors Medicare benefits. In addition, a requirement of the act is that insurance companies spend at least 50-80 percent of premium dollars on medical care, which will lead to less consumer choice and higher prices. Many states are choosing to reject the act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was officially signed into legislation in March 2010. The ACA was a major step in achieving a system of universal healthcare, which essentially means all citizens are provided with healthcare and financial protection. In the 1960’s America introduced the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which helped guarantee some type of medical insurance cover for the very poor (Medicaid) and elderly (Medicare). Even though programs like these assisted in covering the most vulnerable groups of people, many Americans still did not have healthcare insurance. The goal of the ACA reform is to ensure that all Americans are covered by some form of health insurance. The ACA promises healthcare access to
Affordable Care Act (ACA), often known as Obamacare, was signed by President Obama in 2010. The goal of the Act is to increase the number of individuals with health insurance to the point where all Americans are insured by providing quality healthcare at an affordable price. Despite its good intent, the ACA is not as perfect as it may appear. In this paper, I will list the main features of the Act, its pros and cons, and how it affects you as an individual and discuss the King vs. Burwell lawsuit.
The most radical reform made in the United States of America in the past 45 years has been the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010 ("Key Features of the Affordable Care Act"). The purpose of the ACA is to redesign companies within the insurance industry in the United States, mandate everyone in the country to have health insurance, expand public insurances while private insurances subsidize, introduce newer taxes, and transform the country’s largest health insurance, Medicare. As the country slowly integrates itself to this new health care act, people feel they must come to a decision of joining the ACA or finding another way to be covered by insurance.
In March 2013, President Barack Obama signed a federal statue into law that would change the way Americans receive healthcare. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as the Affordable Care Act, and sometimes called Obamacare is the most significant revision of the U.S. healthcare system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid back in 1965. The main function of the Affordable Care Act is to improve hospitals’ and physicians’ practices financially, technologically, and clinically so the health outcomes and lower costs. Americans are split, as they are with most political issues, on whether or not the act is a viable solution to our healthcare problem. Even though it has had its problems such as a faulty website and being thought of as too complicated and expensive for the American government to take on, I believe the Affordable Care Act is a good solution for the healthcare problems in our country.
The ACA has been fraught with much controversy ever since it has been signed into law. Even almost four years after the law was passed, it is still a “hot-button issue” for politicians, health providers, business owners, insurers, and patients. There are many challenges to the long-term success of the ACA, but in my opinion, the greatest threat will come from the fact that the American culture has long favored independence and individual choice, with minimum government involvement. This mindset is what led the U.S. to declare independence from Great Britain, and it has even defined the Bill of Rights, which most Americans hold near and dear to their hearts. Many people thus view the ACA as the government getting involved in their health care.
Affordable Care Act (ACA), arguably the most comprehensive health care reform of the American medical system in several years. The act alters the scope of the uninsured in the United States, requires that most, if not all, residents have health insurance, expands public insurance and subsidizes private insurance coverage, generates additional revenue from new taxes, and reorganizes spending under the nation’s largest health insurance plan, Medicare. The ACA seeks to establish a drastically different health care model for the United States in the years to come, if fully implemented.
The Obama Presidency is known for many things: two wars, economy crashes, government shutdowns and, yes, the infamous Obamacare. Throughout the last six years, President Obama’s agenda was set towards passing a major healthcare reform bill: The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA), more commonly known as Obamacare. Passed on March 23, 2010 under considerable opposition, ACA is widely considered to be the landmark achievement of Obama’s presidency, and his hopeful legacy for historians long afterward. The law has since survived multiple challenges regarding its legality, but its impact on the intended (original) goal of reducing medical costs is still unclear. Affordable healthcare for all
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as “Obamacare”, has drastically altered healthcare in America. The goal of this act was to give Americans access to affordable, high quality insurance while simultaneously decreasing overall healthcare spending. The ACA had intended to maximize health care coverage throughout the United States, but this lofty ambition resulted in staggeringly huge financial and human costs.