Question

The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize yourself with the intricacies of health care reform. Write a 1,000-1,250 word paper that addresses the following: Analyze the nature of health care reform in the United States, both in the past and present.

Discuss the two needed elements in health care reform and why they hold importance.

Evaluate a minimum of three different health care reform strategies and provide a rationale for each.

Choose one of the three areas (above) and provide a specific example of health care reform at either the state or national level:

(a) What was it called? (b) Who introduced it? (c) When was it introduced? (d) What was its ultimate purpose? and (e) Did it succeed? If not, why not?

Answer 1

Healthcare reform in the United States:

United States have a well defined Healthcare system among the countries in the world. Through many decades the nation have been witnessing various health reforms, to upgrade   the country's health status. Even though the nation is facing one of the biggest threat to health, the COVID 19 pandemic, it is striving it best to keep the citizens from danger.

The universal goals of any Nation's health reform plans are three fold, such as:

* Improve the population health

* Improve the patient care experience

* Improve quality of healthcare and control the healthcare cost.

Healthcare Reforms at the past :

1965: Medicare and Medicaid as hospital and supplemental insurance for senior citizens .

Medicaid legislation meant for assisting the poor for medical treatment by providing the fund .

1985: Employee retirement income security Act : for enabling the employees to continue  the health insurance after the retirement  .

1996: The HIPAA act: Health insurance portability and Accountability act : Protected the employees insurance, even when they change or loose the job and also required insrance company to cover the pre-existing disease conditions and ensured the security of medical detail of the patient.

1997 : State children's health insurance programme ( SCHIP): For providing the insurance coverage for the children from the families, wh are under Below 200% Federal poverty line .

2000: Benefits improvement and protection Act , to improve the benefits from SCHIP, Medicaid, Medicare .

2003: Medicare Modernization Act : changed some of the laws of Medicare and introduced new supplemental coverage for sef administered prescription drugs.

Health care Reforms in recent years:

2010 : ACA ( Affordable Care Act)

2015: Medicare Acess and Chip Authorization act , to imburse medicare process part B.

Specific example for Healthcare reform:

a) Affordable Care Act ( ACA)

ACA also called as Patient Protection Affordable Care Act ( PPACA) or Obama care

b) This comprehensive healthcare reform law is enacted in March 23 rd, 2010 , and the President Barack Obama signed into it.

c) March 23 rd, 2010

d) Purpose: The ultimate purpose of ACA was to extend the healthcare to all uninsured Americans and to reduce cost of health insurance coverage for people who qualify for it.

e) ACA was a powerful Healthcare reform law in the history of America's health system , and it was a successful one , that ensured healthcare affordable to millions of Americans . After the enactment of ACA , about 20 million people got the insurance coverage and health benefits. The health benefits offered by ACA covereda vast area:

* Provision of subsidies for families having an income of between 100% - 400% of Federal poverty line.

* The benefits covered the areas of

- prescription drugs

- Emerged services

- Paediatric services

- Hospitalization

- Preventive and wellness services

- Ambulatory services

- pregnancy related services

- Mental health related services and Addiction related services

United States is spending the more amount of money on  Nation' s Health care, when comparing to other countries . The health care Reform laws especially ACA helped the Country's population health to grow by providing extensive healthcare services at a reduced cost.