Health Care Utilization Paper
In recent years, health care has been a huge topic in public debates, legislations, and even in deciding who will become the next president. There have been many acts, legislations, and debates on what the country has to do in regards to health care. According to University of Phoenix Read Me First HCS/235 (n.d.), “How health care is financed influences access to health care, how health care is delivered, the quality of health care provided, and its cost”.
Recent health care reforms have already showed action in the health care industry, but there are a set of rules that will take effect January 1, 2014. The Affordable Care Act delivers better health security by providing a comprehensive health insurance
…show more content…
This is a big deal as most children under this age are full time students and part time workers. Most students are not offered health insurance because they either do not work or work part time. The new act is great as it allows students that are still living with their parents to stay on their health insurance plan. Another major change and benefit under the Affordable Care Act is low cost or free preventative care. According to "Healthcare.gov" (n.d.), “depending on your age, you may have access, at no cost, to preventative services such as blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol tests, cancer screenings, counseling, and vaccines”. There are many people who do not have health insurance because they work part time, are independent workers, do not have a job, or cannot afford it. The Affordable Care Act is allowing these people to take care of their health. Because of the Affordable Care Act, the elderly and the poor will be able to receive more help and afford their health care costs.
The changes taking effect on the health care system can be greatly utilized by Americans, whether it is in a good or bad way. Today, most Americans do not have health insurance because they cannot afford it. With the Affordable Care Act, these Americans will be able to receive health care benefits. President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010. It was created to increase access to insurance coverage, whether through a private
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 was signed into law March 23, 2010 by President Barack Obama; however, the constitutionality of the law remained in question. In a controversial 5-to-4 ruling, The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law on June 28, 2012. The ACA is thought by some as the United States health care rescue, and as its downfall by others.
The Affordable Care Act has made many positive changes for uninsured and underinsured citizens. With the addition of a program called Health Insurance Marketplace, it is now possible for uninsured people in every state to purchase private insurance plans, those making under 400% or less of the Federal Poverty Level will be able to have tax credits making insurance more affordable (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014). Insurance companies are no longer allowed to cancel a policy or raise rates when a client gets sick. Insurance companies cannot refuse coverage to individuals with preexisting conditions such as cancer (“Quality Improvement,” 2015). Insurance companies now must cover preventive care and screenings allowing diseases like cancer to be caught early (“Quality Improvement,” 2015). Research has shown that through health screenings
Over the past decade, government operated and privately owned health care organizations have made improvements identifying patient disabilities, discovering alternative treatments at the patient’s discretion, identifying the cause of diseases, and discovering lifesaving cures. The current United States health care delivery system has undergone enormous changes throughout the years. People the United States utilize health care services for many reasons: to prevent disease, to prevent future illnesses, to eliminate pain, and promote a healthier lifestyle to patients. The Patient Protection and
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
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and to protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices (Whitehouse.gov). President Obama states that the Affordable Care Act is the most important health care legislation enacted in the United
One major change that came with the passing of the affordable care act was the issue of pre- existing conditions. Before the affordable care act, people with pre existing conditions, that tried to buy insurance would either be denied or would be given extremely high premiums. With the passing of the affordable care act now insurance companies that take part in the program are not allowed to deny these people coverage. Many citizens with pre-existing conditions were having trouble obtaining or keeping their health insurance before this
President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law on March 23rd of 2010, with hopes of helping make sure every American have access to quality and affordable health care. Having health care coverage is really a big deal, whether you are a parent with private insurance, a senior with Medicare or a single woman with a pre-existing condition, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can save you money and help you get better coverage.
The Affordable Care Act was into law March 2010. The law has planned to make wide-range of changes to healthcare in the United States. The Affordable Care Act efforts to offer universal right to use to healthcare for Americans, control the rising costs of healthcare, adjust the private insurance industry complete things like state-based private exchanges and online marketplace that brings together state-approved insurance plans from multiple companies so consumers can shop for individual insurance plans, improve the quality of healthcare and make healthcare choices more consumer friendly and easier to understand (Medical Mutual,2017). Healthcare reform involves nearly all Americans from old or young,
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23rd, 2010 by President Barack Obama. This radical health care law was a much-needed step in comprehensive health insurance reform. Three important features of the Affordable Care Act are 1. Improving quality and lowering health care costs 2. New consumer protections and 3. Increased access to healthcare. (Key Features. 2014). Under the umbrella of these three key features additional benefits include free preventive care, drug discounts for senior citizens, increased protection against health care fraud, small business tax credits, increased access to health care through the health insurance marketplace, consumer assistance, and non-discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.
Some of the substantial changes to our health care system made by the law include requiring most individuals to carry health insurance, keeping insurers from denying a person their benefits based on a pre-existing condition, creating health insurance exchanges through which individuals and families not eligible for employer- or government-sponsored health insurance can purchase cover- age and expanding eligibility for the Medicaid program. The ACA will change the focus of our nation's health care system from treating sick people to prevention, increasing access to care and ensuring quality health care for
The Obama health care legislation known as the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) has received mixed reviews over the last couple years. On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices (Health Reform in Action, 2012). Many people dislike the idea of Obamacare because of misinformation obtained from the press, political candidates and by those who refuse to seek the information themselves and go on hearsay. The new health reform law provides security to the hardworking citizens of the United States. Obamacare holds insurance companies accountable, lowers health care costs, gives Americans more freedom and control in their health care choices and improves the quality of care (Health Reform in Action, 2012). With Obamacare, insurance agencies
Health care is constantly changing. Every day, new discoveries and changes are made in the field that shapes our daily lives. The Affordable Care Act changes health care by providing equal opportunity care for every American citizen. It also helps keep the cost of expensive care at an affordable price. With the opportunity to use the gift of health care, many Americans will hopefully find themselves going to the doctor’s office regularly. In years to come, hopefully the act will allow America to become a healthier nation, where everyone deserves the care they
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 implemented in March of 2010 by president Obama reform the way health care was previously run in the United States. The law went into effect, which allowed many Americans who did not currently have insurance and health care coverage to the ability to purchase coverage and access to health care. “ According to the CDC “ the affordable care act of 2010 is designed to provide access to coverage for previously uninsured Americans “ Center of Disease Control (2014).