Question

Identify the key provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act. Discuss the importance of eliminating preexisting conditions restrictions and prohibiting dropping patients after they get sick.

Answer 1

The Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed March 23, 2010 as amended by the health care and education reconciliation act, signed March 31st 2010 is also referred to as the affordable care act a ACA or simply as federal health reform. The 900 plus page act contains many provisions with various effective dates.

KEY PROVISIONS

Provisions included in the ACA are intended to expand access to insurance ,increase consumer protection, emphasis prevention and wellness, improve quality and system performance, expand health workforce and curb rising health and health care costs.

1) Expand access to insurance coverage:

The ACA aims to extend health insurance coverage to about 32 million and uninsured Americans by expanding both private and public insurance. key provisions do the following effective January 1 2014 unless otherwise noted: require employers to cover their workers or pay penalty with exceptions for small employers. Provide tax credits to certain small businesses that covers specified cost of health insurance for their employees are beginning in tax year 2010. Require individuals to have insurance come up with some exceptions such as financial hardship or religious belief.

2) Increase consumer insurance protections

The ACA enacted several insurance reforms effective in 2010 to accomplish the following prohibit lifetime monetary caps on insurance coverage and limit the use of annual cabs prohibit insurance plans from excluding coverage for children with pre-existing condition. Prohibit insurance plans from cancelling coverage except in case of fraud. Establish state-based rate reviews for unreasonable insurance premium increases. Establish an office of health insurance consumer assistance or an ombudsman program. Establish the share of premiums dedicated to medical services. Additional insurance reforms will be effective January 1 2014 including those to prohibit the most insurance plans from excluding paper for pre existing conditions are discriminating based on health status and imposing annual monetary caps on coverage and reforms to require and read issue and renewal of policy, premium rating rules, nondiscrimination in benefits, and mental health and the substances parity .

3) Emphasize prevention and wellness:

The a ACA contains provisions intended to prevent illness including the following highlights establishes a prevention and public health fund to provide grants to States for prevention activities such as disease screenings and immunizations beginning in 2010 creates the national prevention and health promotion and public health council to co-ordinate federal prevention efforts including those to address tobacco use, physical inactivity and poor nutrition. requires insurance plans issued after March 23rd 2010 to cover a certain preventive care without cost sharing such as immunizations preventive care for children and specify the screening for certain adults for conditions such as high blood pressure ,high cholesterol ,diabetes and cancer.

4) health qualities and system performance:

ACA contains several provisions related to improving quality and the system performance including but not limited to the following: comparative research to study the effectiveness of various medical treatments, demonstration project to develop medical malpractice alternatives and reduced medical errors, Demonstration projects to develop payment mechanism to improve efficiency and the results, investment in health information technology, improvements in care coordination between Medicare and medicaid for patients who qualify for both.

5) promote health workforce development:

The ACA addresses workforce issues through a number of provisions, including reforms in graduate medical education training increases in health profession scholarship and loan programs, support for training programs for nurses, support for new primary care model such as medical home and team management of chronic diseases in increased funding for community health centre and the National health service corps and support for school-based health centres and nurse managed health clinics.

6) Curb rising health costs

key provisions of the ACA intended to address rising health costs include providing more oversight of health insurance premiums and practices emphasising prevention, primary care and effective treatments for reducing health care fraud and abuse, reducing uncompensated care to prevent day shift on to insurance premium cost, comparison shopping in insurance exchanges to increase competition and price transparency implementing Medicare payments reforms and testing new delivery and payment system models in medicaid and Medicare.

pre-existing condition means a medical illness or injury that you have before you start a new health care plan may be considered a pre-existing condition. conditions like diabetes, cancer and sleep apnea or maybe examples of pre-existing conditions.They tend to be chronic or long term . 2014 some insurance policies would not cover expenses due to pre-existing conditions. These equations by the insurance industry were maeantt to cope with adverse selection by potential customers. Such exclusions have been prohibited since January 1 2014 by the patient protection and affordable care act .The affordable care act's health insurance marketplaces open for enrollment today for the 6th time but this year the marketplace health plans in many states will face some new competition from insurance products that don't mean the law's standard including the ban on denying coverage or charging more based on a person's pre-existing health conditions. Aa nation, it is important for us to focus our energy on ways to improve people's health. We are experiencing an unprecedented decline in life expectancy which will ultimately affect our economic health and the ability of Americans to compete in a global workforce. One of the most basic things we can do us preserve the coverage protections for people with health problems that have been law for more than four years rather than poke holes in them. Americans say they support this idea . Recent polls have found the majority of Americans believe that people with the health condition should not be denied affordable health insurance and health care. as a result house and senate candidates of both parties are running on their support protecting coverage for people with pre existing conditions. but some of those candidates voted to repeal the ACA last year. The ACC has dramatically improved the ability of people with pre-existing condition to buy coverage. In 2010 before the law passed, we conducted a survey that found 70% of people with the health problem said it was very difficult or impossible to buy affordable coverage, and just to 36% the said the end that a purchasing a health plan. By 2016 the percentage of people who had trouble buying an affordable plan had dropped down to 42% still high but much improved and 60% ultimately bought a plan. While the congressional ACA repeal bills fail at last year, a republican Congress could try again next year. And in the meantime, the laws pre-existing conditions protections and other provisions face another threat from a lawsuit brought by Republican governors and attorneys general in 20 States. The US department of justice has agreed with the plaintiff states in part, and refused to defend the laws pre-existing condition protections. The court decision is pending should the state's win over an estimated 17 million people could become an insured. Some congressional candidates from the states and other are pointing to their support for Republican proposals ,such as the ensuring coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions act, as proof they support coverage for pre-existing conditions. The bill would prevent insurance for refusing or varying premiums based on free access conditions. but unlike the ACA this bill would allow insurers to sell plans that and entirely exclude coverage for care pertaining to the pre-existing conditions themselves the reality is that this bill would not protect Sick Americans for those who may become ill in the future , from high out of pocket healthcare cost. Several million people will be going to the market places in the next few weeks to sign up for coverage since they do not have it through an employer. At this time no one of them who buys a plan in the marketplace has to fear that an insurance company will deny them coverage or a higher premium because of their health. the efforts to undermine the individual market and invalidate the ACAs consumer protections are real life threats for people who depend on this insurance for their healthcare. The nation cannot move forward with tackling our most pressing healthcare problems if we continue to debate a core protection of the ACA the most Americans support.