HealthCare in the United States

There has been a significant increase of poor health care in the United States due to various reasons. One major cause is the lack of choice in health care plans and the increased costs of care. In response, President Obama made a plan to combat this issue under his Affordable Care Act for basic health insurance coverage that covers medical expenses for anyone living below the poverty level (Irvine, 2013). Furthermore, there has been an explosive increase in people who are uninsured because they either do not know how to get covered or cannot afford it. The US government came up with an act to help with this problem providing affordable care for their patients, and also the health care system of the country as a whole is being reformed to give patients more of a choice and increase the quality of their care.

The Affordable Care Act was originally passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010 and is considered a major component of the Obama administration’s economic policy influencing health care costs throughout the United States (Benoit, 2014). The law also aims to improve quality and availability of health care and cuts down on costs without harming the quality of healthcare (Ashrafi et al., 2014). The key focus of this law is to provide universal coverage by using tax breaks, subsidies and tax exemptions to cover the cost of insurance for the middle class. The aim was, however, always to extend coverage to those who could not afford it due to pre-existing conditions or because they made too much money. The insurance exchanges are a nationwide marketplace where individuals can choose between multiple plans which meet the minimum requirements established by the Affordable Care Act.

 According to Act (2010), the law requires states to expand Medicaid coverage for those earning less than 138% of the poverty line, and significantly reduces restrictions on adult children receiving tax credits to improve access to health care. The Constitution of the United States does not explicitly give Congress the power to legislate over healthcare, but it does allow for a provision which states that the government shall make laws necessary and proper to carry out its powers. It is for this reason that the Affordable Care Act can be considered constitutional (Wendt, 2014). Medicaid and Medicare are initiatives which were taken before the Affordable Care Act, but they still fall under the broad powers that the Constitution gives to Congress. Both of these programs have been very important in providing care for all people regardless of race, religion and class (Levine et al., 2013). Since the Affordable Care Act was passed with congressional approval, these programs are now under expanded federal financial requirements. The US health care system is the only working nationalized system in the world. It was created through the expansion of Medicaid and Medicare programs and aims to ensure that everybody who needs it has access to affordable medical care.

In conclusion, one of the major obstacles to healthcare in the United States is a patchwork of state and federal laws that has inhibited national outcomes. There has not been an adequate amount of funding for universal health coverage, a federal law concerning the issue could help by providing an eligibility threshold for comprehensive care. This issue can be further addressed by trying to reduce costs and improve quality associated with the current system, rather than attempting to replace it entirely. Medicaid and Medicare health programs are examples of the federal government taking a role in improving the quality of healthcare delivery. From a political point of view, it is very beneficial for the American public to have insurance coverage because not having it can limit access to specialized care, increase out-of-pocket spending, and make the actual cost of coverage for those who are insured much higher.

References

Act, A. C. (2010). Patient protection and affordable care act. Public law, 111, 148.

Ashrafi, N., Kelleher, L., & Kuilboer, J. P. (2014). The impact of business intelligence on healthcare delivery in the USA. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 9, 117.

Benoit, W. L. (2014). President Barack Obama's image repair on HealthCare. gov. Public Relations Review, 40(5), 733-738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.07.003

Grosse, S. D. (2008). Assessing cost-effectiveness in healthcare: history of the $50,000 per QALY threshold. Expert review of pharmacoeconomics & outcomes research, 8(2), 165-178. https://doi.org/10.1586/14737167.8.2.165

Irvine, B., Clarke, E., & Bidgood, E. (2013). Healthcare systems: the USA. London CIVITAS.

Levine, A. I., DeMaria Jr, S., Schwartz, A. D., & Sim, A. J. (Eds.). (2013). The comprehensive textbook of healthcare simulation. Springer Science & Business Media.

Wendt, C. (2014). Changing healthcare system types. Social policy & administration, 48(7), 864-882. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12061