OBAMACARE in USA Essay
OBAMACARE in USA Essay

OBAMACARE in USA Essay

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  • Pages: 3 (745 words)
  • Published: December 24, 2021
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Introduction

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a comprehensive framework for health insurance reforms aimed at improving health security for Americans, according to the Affordable Care Act Congressional Digest (2016). The ACA's primary objectives are to expand healthcare services, increase accountability of insurance firms, decrease healthcare expenses, offer more choice for patients, and improve the quality of healthcare services for all Americans. This paper will analyze and compare the level of protection provided to patients and providers under the ACA and draw conclusions about the potential future of the healthcare industry in the next five years.

The Benefits of the Affordable Care Act for Patients

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provided numerous advantages to patients in America. These include improvements in healthcare quality and reductions in expenses. Thanks to the ACA, individuals can now access preventive care at

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no cost, receive small business tax credits, be protected against healthcare fraud, and enjoy discounts specifically tailored for seniors. These benefits were not available before the ACA was implemented (Tacchino, 2014). Moreover, the ACA has introduced new patient protections by enhancing consumer assistance in healthcare services. More people now have the right to be covered by medical insurance plans. For example, mental health services that were previously excluded from medical plans are now covered under the provisions of the ACA (Tacchino, 2014).

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has led to an increase in healthcare demand and enrollment through the health insurance marketplace, especially among women. Ambulatory patient services now offer convenient outpatient access, providing insurance options, coverage for preventive services, and reduced facility expenses that were previously inaccessible. Moreover, individuals up to the age of 26 are eligibl

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for comprehensive coverage under the ACA.

The ACA Act introduced new benefits that were not previously available. Medicare was strengthened by providing a yearly wellness visit and free preventive care for some seniors with Medicare coverage. Insurance providers are now required to justify any premiums above 10%, preventing them from overcharging clients.

The ACA has benefits for providers. One benefit is the increase in patients seeking medical insurance. This leads to an increased demand for services, resulting in higher revenue for providers. However, the influx of patients may overwhelm the limited number of physicians. Another benefit is the elimination of pre-existing condition restrictions. Previously, seniors with asthma and diabetes, as well as children, were prohibited from accessing health insurance. The ACA ensures that patient coverage cannot be revoked when they become sick, which was not the case before the ACA (Cooper ; Gardner, 2016).

By removing health insurance restrictions, insurance companies experience a rise in revenues since patients are now obligated to cover more services. Initially, patients were only responsible for payments on up to 63 new preventive health services without copayment. However, under the new ACA, health insurance plans must also encompass additional services like maternity, mental health, disorder services, and substance abuse. Consequently, providers now reap greater benefits than previously.

Findings and Conclusions

The study demonstrates that the ACA framework brings significant benefits to parties, patients, and insurance firms in the short term. However, providers are likely to face difficulties in the future, while patients will not be directly affected in the long run. Each immediate benefit for providers presents a future challenge. For example, in order to accommodate more plans, providers

must invest in new systems to allow for the necessary changes.

The payment and care models need to be changed, resulting in higher costs for providers. The increasing demand for healthcare services presents a crisis in the need for more specialists in obstetrics, gynecology, and general surgery. This poses a challenge for health insurance providers who must find enough practitioners to meet the demand. Therefore, it is essential for the government to invest more in expanding wellness facilities and specialists to address the growing demand for healthcare services. If the government fails to promptly and extensively support struggling healthcare providers, there will be chaos within the industry in approximately five years.

References

  1. Tacchino, A. (2014). The New Employee Landscape Post Affordable Care Act: What Advisors Need to Know. Journal Of Financial Service Professionals, 68(2), 30-33
  2. Cooper, R. W., ; Gardner, L.

A. (2016). The Journal Of Financial Service Professionals investigates the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which has resulted in significant changes and difficulties in health insurance markets (pp. 53-71).

The citation for the article "Congressional Digest" from 2016 states the volume and issue number, as well as the page range (4-6).

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