Many Americans were led to believe that the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2009 would put an end to disparities in health care access. While it did improve the situation for a small percentage of the population there are still many Americans who lack access to good quality health care. Health care access in America is determined by money and those in lower socioeconomic groups frequently tend to miss out on adequate care. In a recent health care report by the national health research foundation Kaiser Family Foundation, it was noted “health care disparities remain a persistent problem in the United States, leading to certain groups being at higher risk of being uninsured, having limited access to care, and experiencing poorer quality of care” (Kaiser Family Foundation). The current health care
The Affordable Care Act, (ACA) often referred to as Obamacare, was signed into law March 23rd, 2010 and has quickly become a nightmare to millions of citizens nationwide. While there were fortunate people who benefited from the heavily subsidized and affordable healthcare that was not readily available before ACA was passed, many more people found that their once affordable healthcare was no longer an option due to new ACA requirements (how so?). ACA was designed to extend insurance benefits to roughly 30 million uninsured Americans. The Obama administration aimed to extend Medicaid and provide federal subsidies so lower and middle-class Americans could afford to buy private insurance. This act alone forced millions of Americans out of their
Since the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), twenty-eight states have either filed joint or individual lawsuits to strike down the PPACA. This document will examine a few key elements that the President of the United States must take into consideration when reviewing the act and moving forward to either ratify the act, replace the act, or leave the act as it is. Topics that will be presented will include; the current issues being debated, two competing thoughts on how to fix the ACA, an evaluation of the preferred solution, and finally the responsibility of each level of government.
For sometime, many US citizens have not had the resources to acquire an adequate health insurance plan. Although faced by many oppositions, the US government has found a solution, The Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare”, is a US healthcare reform law that focuses mainly on providing more Americans with access to an affordable health insurance. The Affordable Care Act is said to expand the affordability, quality, and availability of private and public health insurance through consumer protections, regulations, subsidies, taxes, insurance exchanges, and other reforms. Signed into law by President Obama in March 2010, hence the nickname “Obamacare”, the
22 million. 22 million is the number of Americans who would not have had health insurance if it were not for Obamacare. That is around 4 times the number of people living in Singapore. Whether it be a cancer patient, or an employee working 30 hours a week, they may not have been insured. Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a health care act implemented in the US law, which was passed in 2010. It works to make health insurance more affordable for Americans, and essentially, improve the healthcare system in the US. But, many people oppose this healthcare act because they believe that the government should not force people to get insured, and pay a penalty for not doing so. However, one has to realise that although they may not have
A. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), was created in 2010 under the President Obama administration. It is designed to reform the current healthcare system by offering more health insurance options at affordable rates. The reform aims to provide individuals with more health insurance options, alleviate out of pocket costs, and prevent gender discrimination. The basis of providing millions of Americans with quality health insurance options greatly benefits a majority of individuals. Although the ACA has some positive aspects, we believe the act should be repealed and redone to benefit business and consumers alike.
Healthcare is important. Without it, people would not have the adequate means to acquire treatment for illness or injury. However, the United States does not have universal health care for everyone, nor is means of gaining healthcare affordable for all. To try to solve this problem, President Obama began working on healthcare reform almost immediately after assuming office in 2009. During a joint session with Congress on February 24, 2009, President Obama said, "So let there be no doubt: Healthcare reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year” (8). Almost thirteen months later, after a process of revisions and being passed through the United States Government, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Health Care Act is flawed in numerous ways. The premiums are higher than they anticipated them to be. They tried to make it to where everyone would pay the same amount, however it is more expensive to do this. That reason is people that are very sick are in the same health care plan as people that are healthy, and they never visit the doctor. So, healthy people are paying the costs for sick people to go to the doctor. These rates raise each year, because health care keeps increasing as more people become ill (Taylor, 2012).
The affordable care act, also known as Obama care has been working in America. The plan is far from perfect and will not cover every American who is need of care, but it made a dramatic impact on the state of health care in America. It has made the system better because it has put more money into doctors and hospitals and it has also allowed more people to get covered by health insurance plans. The quality of care his seen an increase in the quality of care, according to the publishers of The Affordable Care act is Working (2015) state that since 2011 there has been an improvement in patient safety and the number of hospital readmissions for avoidable cases has been reduced. This is related to fact that more people are covered; since the act can have
“Healthcare Reform 101,” written by Rick Panning (2014), is a wonderful article that describes, in an easy-to-understand language, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law March 23, 2010. The main goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was to provide affordable, quality healthcare to Americans while simultaneously reducing some of the country’s economic problems. Two areas will be covered throughout this paper. The first section will include a summary of the major points and highlights of Panning’s (2014) article, including an introduction to the ACA, goals of the signed legislation, provided coverage, and downfalls of the current healthcare system. The second part will be comprised of a professional
Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana enacted an executive order on January 14 to expand Medicaid through Obamacare in the state. The order will be effective July 1, 2016.
“In my opinion, our health care system has failed when a doctor fails to treat an illness that is treatable” (Kevin Alan Lee 2011). Being a doctor is mean to cure diseases unconditionally. However, the healthcare system in the United States today has always been the top concern in every family and individual. As compared to most of other countries, their governments provide free health care to their citizens at any time (Sicko). We as one of the most powerful countries seems far left behind that people are still suffering from high medical expenses and are still fighting over a basic need of being covered with free health care. As taxpayers in the United States, we should be covered with free healthcare unconditionally and completely because everyone needs to be healthy for a
Many people believe healthcare reform is a bad idea and that the government should stay away from healthcare. However, there are many other people who believe that it is a great thing that the government got involved, and created programs to register for mandatory health-care. In, “Healthcare Reform 101”, author Rick Panning discusses some of the main goals of the Affordable Healthcare Act, which are universality, financing, cost reduction, payment reform, quality and process improvement, prevention and wellness. As most of these goals are in some way or form about money, “one could easily argue that the ACA is more about payment reform, than true comprehensive healthcare reform…” (Panning 107). It is safe to assume that, that this what
Before the Affordable Care Act was put into work, over 45 million Americans were uninsured. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was then made to help those who were uninsured. It allowed people with financial struggles with the same opportunity as everyone else to have a healthcare plan. Even though the law was passed in 2010, it took a full year of back and forth to get it passed in the Senate. Obamacare may help you get coverage, but charge you an annual fee if you don’t have one. The affordable care act should stay in effect because even though it may cost more, it regulates private insurance to get more rights and protection for each person.
Health care should not be considered a political argument in America; it is a matter of basic human rights. Something that many people seem to forget is that the US is the only industrialized western nation that lacks a universal health care system. The National Health Care Disparities Report, as well as author and health care worker Nicholas Conley and Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), strongly suggest that the US needs a universal health care system. The most secure solution for many problems in America, such as wasted spending on a flawed non-universal health care system and 46.8 million Americans being uninsured, is to organize a national health care program in the US that covers all citizens for medical necessities.