Question

Healthcare in the United States continues to grow at an unsustainable rate. Since 1971 there have been more than 30 reform pieces of legislation passed in an effort of cost containment. Describe the intent of the following programs 1) Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act (1988), Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, Social Security Amendments of 1972 and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996. In your opinion has the legislation performed as designed? Provide rationale for your opinion.

Answer 1

The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (MCAA) was a government bill designed to improve acute care benefits for the elderly and disabled, which was to be phased in from 1989 to 1993. The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 was meant to expand Medicare benefits to include outpatient drugs and limit enrollees' copayments for covered services

The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) is federal legislation passed in 1982 to cut the budget deficit through federal spending cuts, tax increases, and reform measures. The legislation reversed some elements of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA). Both pieces of legislation were passed early in the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

1972 Social Security Amendments

1972 was a pivotal year for the Social Security program. It marked the end of the period of steady program expansion and the starting point of a long period of modest expansions, joined with significant contractions.

Two important bills were enacted in 1972, one a very minor debt extension bill with a very important rider authorizing automatic Cost-of-Living-Allowances (COLAs), and a major omnibus bill, known as H.R.1, which embodied the Administration's welfare reform proposals and other important programmatic changes. Following the enactment of these two bills, SSA Commissioner Robert M. Ball wrote an article summarizing the legislative developments leading up to this two pieces of legislation.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Privacy Rule to implement the requirements of HIPAA. The HIPAA Security Rule protects a subset of information covered by the Privacy Rule.

1972 Social Security Amendments