“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
Steven Brill’s Bitter Pill: “Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” by Angelina Salikhbaeva Summary: Steven Brill in the article “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us” clarifies his opinion about the costs of healthcare services in the United States. The author writes about different stories of how families become bankrupt or unable to pay the total cost of the treatment to the US hospitals and related medical facilities. According to Steven Brill’s article, the US hospitals prescribe too much health care to patients.
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.
In addition to the dismay of many healthcare professionals, patients, and citizens who are uninsured, several flaws about the current healthcare system show the necessity for reform. The three flaws that exacerbate the current healthcare crisis are: the tax code and tax breaks, the lack of preventable care and adequate care of chronic diseases, and administrative costs. A single payer, universal healthcare system can resolve the major flaws of the
Most other wealthy and industrialized countries have made significant progress toward having a universal health care system. According to a report from the World Health Organization, “The USA is currently the only high-income country without nearly universal health-care coverage” (Rice et al.). If the US stands out this
Discuss the pros and cons of healthcare costs being passed on to employees from the employers.
Living a healthy life is a struggle to some American citizens, being able to afford to be healthy poses a significant challenge to some Americans. With the costs of a hospital visit potentially being greater than a thousand dollars, many Americans choose to forego treatment and hope they recover from their ailment without medical attention. To combat this issue, president Obama introduced the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, to encourage Americans to sign up for health insurance to be able to afford healthcare. The ACA provides subsidies to low income families and individuals, fines businesses who do not provide health insurance to full time employees, expand existing federal and state health plans, and sets a standard for health insurance policies. Additionally, since the introduction of the ACA into the American healthcare system, insurance premiums have not increased at the same rate they have previously.
As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement, which the numbers will double by 2030. they are wondering if there will be health care as they grow into their golden years. They are looking towards the government for the answer. With the cost of healthcare continuing to rise, the government which its divided Congress needs to come together to get healthcare on solid ground and make sure there is enough for everyone for years to come.
Zutshi 1 ENC 1101 20 September 2014 Universal Healthcare: America's Savior? A long debated hot topic, the implementation of Universal Healthcare within the United States is growing in importance as the currently administered health care system is one of the worst out of all developed, and even some under-developed countries. Many countries ensure healthcare to their citizens as a basic right, while in the United States there are approximately 45 million uninsured, and many more under-insured.
Works Cited Bradley, Elizabeth H., Lauren A. Taylor, and Harvey V. Fineberg. American Health Care Paradox: Why Spending More Is Getting Us Less. 2013. Print. This book is interesting.
The need for improved and less expensive healthcare in the United States has attracted people to form a group advocating for a universal healthcare system. Some of the major objectives of the organization are to enhance healthcare accessibility, make healthcare more affordable through the creation of new products and services, integrate technology in healthcare delivery for easier navigation, and also improve healthcare standards for the entire American population. Despite the expected positive implications of having a universal healthcare system in the country, some people are not aware of its existence. In this regard, it is important to discuss the need for universal healthcare system in the United States and its negative aspects; this
With the proposed tax adjustments and the payment plan involving both the individual and employer, Senator Sanders’ health care plan becomes not only viable but also cheap when held against most Americans insurance deductibles. Compared with most so called first world countries, the United States as a whole spends far more on healthcare; “At 17.4% of GDP in 2009, US health spending is half as much again as any other country, and nearly twice the average”(OECD 1). OECD stands for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes such countries as Britain, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands among others. The fact that the U.S. spends comparatively more than these other “socialist” countries displays that having a streamlined, national healthcare system can in fact be run without breaking the bank or creating unmanageable costs.
Spending on post-acute services in Medicare and long-term care services have grown more rapidly since 1999. Although growing numbers of people receive home and community-based
In the U.S, the citizens and government have been working at getting a universal healthcare system for nearly a decade. Many times, advocates for a universal system such as this, have believed that they were on the verge of success, but time and time again they got shot down. Other countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and France have had universal healthcare since the 1890’s, almost as long the U.S has been trying to get it themselves. During this time the U.S government left the matter of healthcare into the hands of the states, and the states left it into the hands of private and voluntary programs, which of course, eventually lead to the wealthy having more benefits because they were able to able to afford what these programs had to offer
Health care cost has seen to increase gradually as years go by. This has been influenced by major factors such as political influence, emerging chronic diseases, new procedures that are coming up including the technologies being invented for treating illnesses, pricing of medicines and treatment is not regulated and when treating ailment their may arise repetition of tests or a patient gets over treated for a particular ailment.