Health Policy

honor Dimensions of the Affordable look at Act President Obamas Affordable tending Act (ACA) enacted in March 2010 pull up stakes increase wellness redress c overage to millions of Americans. This is the first significant reform in wellness conduct in over 40 years and targets closing the gap of uninsured Americans by mandating amends. There has been debate over the individual wellness redress mandate and whether it is constitutional. Opinions on the individual mandate and the values it impacts are unconnected among all stakeholders.This talk will concentrate on the following stakeholder groups (1) insurance companies and (2) uninsured individuals who might otherwise choose non to purchase health insurance or do not squander the means to do so (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012). It is no secret that health boot has become progressively unaffordable bell of medical treatments and insurance premiums keep rising and society feels a moral obligation to insure that its citiz ens do not suffer from the unavailability of health care. The individual mandate provision has been and will continue to be one of the most controversial elements embodied in the ACA.This provision requires individuals to swear minimum essential coverage each month or have a bun in the oven a penalty. This new law allows the American people to choose health insurance plans that work best for them by providing a short, plain quarrel summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) as well as a colour of commonly used insurance terms to all patients. Coverage includes those who, until now, have continuously been denied because of their existing health conditions Beginning ( rich Cross Blue guard of Rhode Island, 2010). January 1, 2014, all U. S. esidents are required to maintain the previously mentioned essential coverage unless(prenominal) the individual falls into certain categories including the following religious conscience exemption, incarcerated individuals, undocumented aliens, wh en contribution exceeds 8% of household income and individuals with a coverage gap of less than 3 months, individuals in a hardship situation as delimit by the Secretary of Department of Health & Human Services, individuals with income below the levy filing threshold, and members of Indian tribes (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, 2010).The Affordable Cares Act does decrease the number of uninsured compared to if this legislation did not pass. The policy of mandating insurance provides an incentive for individuals to purchase insurance or impudence paying fines. Tax benefits induce employers to provide coverage to their employees. Employers may redden provide more health awareness programs to pull down health costs. provision under this legislation excessively decrease the number of underinsured including the healthy little individuals who might otherwise choose not to purchase health insurance.The ACA will to a fault eliminate barriers for interstate insurance provide rs and encourage more contender to provide a low-cost advantage for the uninsured. This may also result to nonprofit agencies being developed to provide a low cost option for the uninsured. The unmarried Mandate and the entire ACA will impact the health of all Americans. The ways the individual mandate may impact consumer admission price to healthcare, healthcare quality and costs and insurance companies is still debatable depending on which stakeholder group you are aligned with.The ACA will expand coverage to some 95% of consumers that reside in the U. S legally (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012). Consumers previously not covered under government programs such as Medicaid will be able to receive healthcare benefits through those programs. In addition, preventive care will be free and seniors will have access to cheaper prescription drug drugs. The ACA also provides incentives to primary care providers to practice in underserved areas which will also expand consumers access to healthcare.On the other hand, cuts in Medicare will take devote at a time when millions of baby-boomers become eligible for Medicare and some Americans could put down access to their current health care plans as a result. The ACA also establishes several new rules and controls for insurance companies including requiring that they cannot deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, must spend a certain percentage of premiums collected on material patient care costs.These new rules provide trade protection for consumers and ensure insurance companies are held accountable for the care and services provided to patients that are enrol direct in their plans (Friedman & Becker, 2012). some other major issue that has raised considerable debate and even led to law suits being filed is the constitutionality of the ACA. Those who oppose healthcare reform argue that it is unconstitutional for Congress to require that every person purchase health insurance. However, the ACA improves ccess to healthcare which promotes the general welfare of consumers, and thus congress has the power to spend silver to promote general welfare. Although the ACA has several short-comings that are currently being debated and others just unknown, the bills effectiveness to improve access to care for the uninsured, reduce healthcare costs and sop up insurance companies more accountable make it worth the trouble. As with any major change, working out the problems over time will be required to allow the ACA achieve the end of improving the health status and overall life quality of consumers (Friedman & Becker, 2012).References Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island. (2010). Federal Healthcare Reform. Patient protection And affordable care act individual mandate & subsidy. Retrieved from https//www. bcbsri. com/BCBSRIWeb/pdf/Individual_Mandate_Fact_Sheet. pdf Friedman, A. & Becker, N. (2012). Understanding the Individual Mandates SCOTUS Pivot Points. Justices ponder adverse selection, a pot ential death spiral and severability. Retrieved from http//ldihealtheconomist. com/he000023. shtml Kaiser Family Foundation (2012). Health reform. Retrieved from http//healthreform. kff. org/