Respond to at TWO of your classmates' postings. minimum 1-2 paragraphs each

Week Four Discussion 1

Respond to at two of your classmates' postings. Do not simply agree. Provide substantive feedback.

Keavonic

Good Afternoon Classmates,

 

To alleviate the health insurance problem that has spread throughout households, cities, states, and the entire country, the Affordable Care Act addresses the financial relationship between Americans and the health care system. (Rosenbaum, 2011). The ACA's expanded coverage options for Americans and the enhancements to health quality and system performance are key aspects that boost efficiency. However, the ACA's weaknesses included higher premiums for some American and struggles for some insurances companies that attempted to transition into the reform. Access to care has gotten much better for many Americans, but many problems still need to be fixed with healthcare reform.

 

Expansion of access to insurance coverage was paramount for the ACA. In the United States, adults aged 19 to 64 who lacked health insurance decreased from a peak of 37 million (or 20 percent) in 2010 to 23 million (or 12 percent) between July and November 2016. Since the law was passed in 2010, people of all races, ethnicities, ages and income levels have gotten more coverage. People with low and middle incomes have seen the most significant improvements. For adults with family incomes less than $48,500, the uninsured rate was 17 points below its peak in 2010 and 10 points below its level in 2001. This decrease shows the effectiveness of the reform (Collins et al., 2017). In addition, the ACA was crucial in improving health quality and system performance in the healthcare system. In the first stages of the reform, from 2010 to 2013, 50,000 fewer people died in hospitals from preventable mistakes and infections because of safety measures that were put in place. Medicare also established star ratings for health plans and various types of healthcare providers in order to improve patient performance and information (Somanader, 2015).

 

Individual health insurance changed a lot because of the ACA. First, health insurers reported troubling financial news that premium rates have climbed more than anticipated. Several new insurance companies focused on the individual market had failed or had trouble making ends meet. Second, United Healthcare, one of the largest insurers in the country, said it would leave most of the Affordable Care Act's exchange markets because it had lost much money in those markets (Hall et al., 2016). Lastly, some Americans' premiums went up an average of about 60% from 2013 to 2017 (Book, 2017). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was one of our generation's most significant changes to health care. It gave some people the needed access, but the U.S. needs to look at all areas to ensure it stays efficient. As a future healthcare leader, this legislation is good for the healthcare industry. However, everyone should work to move the reform forward instead of getting rid of an act that helped millions of Americans access care.

References

Book, R. (2017, March 22).  Yes, It Was The 'Affordable' Care Act That Increased Premiums. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2017/03/22/yes-it-was-the-affordable-care-act-that-increased-premiums/?sh=7a5e9ff811d2

Collins, S. R., Gunja, M. Z., Doty, M. M., & Beutel, S. (2017). How the Affordable Care Act Has Improved Americans’ Ability to Buy Health Insurance on Their Own.  The Commonwealth Fund, 1-18.

Hall, M. A., & McCue, M. J. (2016, July 20).  How Has the Affordable Care Act Affected Health Insurers' Financial Performance? Retrieved from The Commonwealth Fund: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2016/jul/how-has-affordable-care-act-affected-health-insurers-financial

Rosenbaum, S. (2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice.  Public Health Reports, 130-135.

Somanader, T. (2015, March 25).  4 Ways the Affordable Care Act Is Improving the Quality of Health Care in America. Retrieved from The White House: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/03/25/4-ways-affordable-care-act-improving-quality-health-care-america

Brianna Fitchett

The Affordable care act (ACA) sometimes referred to as Obamacare was signed into effect on March 23, 2010 by president Obama (Obama, 2016). There has been significant reviews and studies conducted since its inception examining the effects of the ACA on the health of the American people (Soni et al., 2020). In my opinion, two factors put in place by the ACA that have positively impacted the American people are (1) the coverage of young people under their parents insurance policies, and (2) the requirement for insurance plans to cover preventative care without cost-share  ( The Affordable Care Act: A Brief Summary, 2011). These two pieces of the legislation made a serious and lasting impact on the health of the American people.

              When the change occurred to provide coverage for young adults on their parents plan in September 2010, an estimated 5.5 million young adults were able to get coverage (Soni et al., 2020). Ensuring that all people have coverage is vital to a healthy society. Young adults could be in school, part time jobs or spending time learning what it is they want to do as a career or life choice meaning they may not be employed with employer sponsored healthcare. Soni et al. (2020) reports that there have been multiple studies showing that because of this coverage the overall health of the young adult population improved including both physical and mental health.

              By covering preventative care with out cost-share means that Americans have access to essentially free preventative care services. According to Healthy People 2030 preventative care reduces risk factors for significant medical issues for all and childhood preventative care is essential for building healthy communities ( Healthy People 2030, n.d.). The ACA requiring this coverage is important because it builds preventative care into the framework of regular medical care for individuals who might not seek it due to cost.

              Two factors in which I think are relative weaknesses for the ACA are (1) the relatively small number of Medicaid expansion that occurred and (2) Medicaid programs now being required for only pregnant members. Research conducted before the ACA went into effect showed the positive changes that occur when there is Medicaid expansion in states specifically in the effect to which medical dept is effected (Obama, 2016). The states who chose to expand their Medicaid programs as part of the ACA saw large reductions in their insurance rates. In my opinion, the benefit of expansions outweighs the negative aspects and the ACA could have done more to encourage and reward those states who expanded.

              The second area I think is a weakness is that Medicaid must cover smoking cessation programs for only pregnant members. This is such a valuable program that if extended to all could cause significant benefits in reducing risk factors and disease caused by smoking.

 

Resources

Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/preventive-care

Obama, B. (2016). United States Health Care Reform Progress to Date and Next Steps.  Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey,  71(12), 695–697. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ogx.0000510808.28294.39

Soni, A., Wherry, L. R., & Simon, K. I. (2020). How Have ACA Insurance Expansions Affected Health Outcomes? Findings From The Literature: A literature review of the Affordable Care Act’s effects on health outcomes for non-elderly adults.  Health Affairs,  39(3), 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01436

The Affordable Care Act: A Brief Summary (States Implement Health Reform). (2011). National Conference of State Legislatures. http://www.ncsl.org/healthreform