Portfolio: Current Policies; Future Impacts Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law nearly five years ago, the rhetoric overt the law and its provisions continue in Congress and around every kitchen table in America. While no one disagrees the healthcare system prior to the passage of the ACA was flawed, healthcare reform under the ACA continues to evolve and is likely to continue evolving in the future. Despite this, it is the law, and the healthcare industry is doing its best to keep up with the law’s mandates. For the hospital healthcare administrator, there are numerous changes affecting how hospitals do business, not only with the insurance industry, but with patients as well. The following overview discusses the basics of the ACA, the positive and negative ramifications for hospitals, and the impact the law will have for years to come. Although the final incarnation of the Affordable Care Act will develop over time, its premise of ending healthcare disparities and quality care for all citizens is long overdue. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act When it was clear the ACA would indeed become law, many wondered why reform was necessary as they enjoyed great coverage through an employer at a reasonable cost. Furthermore, these same individuals had never experienced the doors to quality health care closed to them or their family members. These citizens are the fortunate ones living in a country that arguably has the best healthcare, the finest
The Affordable Care Act, or, “Obamacare” as it has been dubbed by the media and general public was approved on June 8, 2012 when the “The Supreme Court of the United States upheld most provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by a 5-4 vote” (James, "Affordable Care Act and Pharmacy: Big Changes Ahead?"). This vote and approval has completely reshaped the landscape of the healthcare field, not only from a provider’s aspect, but from a consumer’s aspect as well. The need for healthcare reform was made apparent due to the growing
Our healthcare system is in a state of constant change. Just as the industry was adapting to the demands of countless healthcare reforms, the fate of regulations like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and others like it, dangle in the wind. As the country transitions to a newly appointed administration, there is an increasing level of uncertainty among industry leaders. Federal, state, and local mandates continue to drive the need to improve the quality, costs, and outcomes of care which add to an already overburdened and burnout system. These coupled with our highly secular society who is primarily focused on the treating and curing illness through advanced technology, medications, and procedures has resulted in a
When president Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in March 2010, it came with a lot of new provisions that would vary when they would come into effect. The very first provision was the “Grandfather Clause” which allowed people to keep their insurance plan before the act went into effect. As long as the employer still offered that plan the employee could still maintain it because they were grandfathered into receiving that coverage. If someone bought an insurance plan after March 2010 they would not be considered under the Grandfather Clause. Thus, these individuals would be required to get a new plan by 2014 if their plan did not meet all the criteria, they would need to get a new plan that fills all the criteria. Another major provision of the Affordable Care Act is that patients have a guaranteed issue. This means that insurance companies are unable to deny anybody health insurance based on their health or prior health. This may create a problem because the risk pool of an insurance company may not have the best people. Eventually, this could lead to the majority of the risk pool for an insurance company to have people who are at a greater risk of needing health insurance. This will make the insurance company more vulnerable and the only way that they will be able to cover the losses is by raising the premiums on everyone even though there may be some individuals that are in perfect health. The next provision that was added under the Affordable Care Act is that the
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is considered to be one of the most radical health care moves in legislation after Medicare. The reason being that it will provide universal health coverage to everyone regardless of circumstance. An evaluation of ACA’s influence on health care will be evaluated in this paper.
Rules and policies constantly change over time with all types of industries, companies, and organizations. The results of these changes can affect a drastic number of outcomes or solutions to current issues within those businesses. One type of profession in particular, occupational therapy, is also included in these categories. The impact of not just current policy issues, but the social, economic, political, geographic, and demographic factors can all play a role in occupational therapy. The following paper discusses how the Affordable Care Act is positively affecting clients who are involved with occupational therapy.
Health care is one of the major political issues facing the nation today. Most industrialized countries have national healthcare system, while the United States only provide coverage for those who are eligible under government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. As the cost of health care to continue to increase, many question the role of the government while other blame insurance companies for increase in premium.
In Title IX named, Revenue Provisions, will provide a middle-class tax cut to help those families and small business owners have more affordable insurance coverage ("Read the Law | HealthCare.gov", n.d).
Just like anything else that is first implemented out to people, there are also flaws. Not everything that first rolls out to the public is perfect. However, although this new health care may have some flaws in the beginning, some may say that there are a little more just minute flaws. Some may express that the new Affordable Care Act may be a reform that will hurt us rather than help us. “If there is any area of social policy in which Americans are likely to be aware that their system has flaws, it is in health care.” As if America it is not already the country that has the most expensive health care system , “Americans pay an average annual cost of $8,174 per person for their health care, over twice as high as the average Western
On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or “Obamacare” was signed and put into effect (DiMichele, 2017). From then to now, many people in the United States are split from fully agreeing to completely against this certain reform. Throughout different types of research and speaking to an interviewee, I have found multiple reasons that the ACA is good and why it can be bad (or Pros and Cons). One important pro that I found was that with Obamacare, anyone can have the choice of their own Physician or place of care for their needs, then just being able to get care from an Emergency Room (ASPA, 2015). This lets the patient have more freedom to make their own decisions based on their own healthcare and what they
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” completely changed the American healthcare system. The purpose of the bill was to lower the cost of healthcare, improve health outcomes, and lower the national uninsured rate. To lower the cost of healthcare, the bill provides federal subsidies for government-sponsored healthcare plans to any person or family whose income is between one and four times the federal poverty level and is not covered by their employer, Medicaid, or Medicare (Neporent). In addition, the bill allows children to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26. Previously, children could only be on their parents’ plans until age 19 ("Is the Affordable Care Act Working?").
The Affordable Care Act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), commonly called "Obamacare," is a federal statute that was signed into law in March of 2010 (PDF, n.d.; Van de Water, 2011). It basically requires the vast majority of people in the United States who do not have insurance coverage to acquire that coverage or face penalties. People who already have insurance through their employers or on their own will not be asked to change companies. Additionally, anyone who is on federally-funded insurance such as Medicaid or Medicare and still qualifies for those programs will not be removed from their insurance. They will still be covered and protected. In order to find out more about the Act and really understand its main points and principles, however, it is very important to be aware of how it became a law and any changes that have taken place to it from its inception all the way through where it is today. Only then can a person have a clear understanding of the Act and form an opinion as to the value it may (or may not) provide to the American public. There is still much speculation and a great deal of misunderstanding about the Act and what it involves.
Basic changes in the way Americans will get health coverage and what it will cost starting in 2014, when major parts of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare”, go into effect.
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
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.
The Affordable Care Act puts consumers back in charge of their health care. Under the law, a new “Patient’s Bill of Rights” gives the American people the stability and flexibility they need to make informed choices about their health. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a multi-faceted reform of the nation 's health care system. The Wow Hospital Association is working with members, stakeholders and lawmakers to facilitate implementation of the law. Wow Hospitals will experience as a result of the ACA. Common themes in all of these reforms are accountability, efficiency, and quality. Furthermore, these plans provide new opportunities for WH to invest in upstream interventions– working to make policy, systems and environment improvements that will impact the communities in which we serve.