Affordable Healthcare Act is a policy that is expected to take action from the year 2014 and the policy intends to increase make health care more affordable through creating competition between healthcare insurance companies as a way of lowering the medical care insurance covers that has initially been expensive and unaffordable to some individuals (Rosenbaum , 2010). Health insurance companies initially offered insurance packages depending on the type of cover a person wants and there were limited government involvement thus enabling these companies set their own prices. This had prohibited most American citizens from accessing medical covers as they were too expensive or alternatively rely on public funding which was almost unavailable.
The introduction of Affordable Healthcare Act indicates a direct involvement of the government in regulating private health insurance companies to ensure that they provide affordable health cover to all citizens without any discrimination. The policy prohibit insurance companies from denying certain individuals insurance cover on basis of age, gender, financial earnings and health issues through provision of an affordable health cover (Medicaid or Medicare). In addition according to Herzlinger (2008), direct government involvement in managing competition in private health insurers ensures that citizens are able to shop for health covers from different companies where they feel that the prices provided are affordable.
Other than regulating competition in health insurance market, the Act also ensures availability of public healthcare through enacting the need for the government to increase the number of public health institutions and healthcare providers such as nurses. This as a result will ensure that the citizens have access to health care facilities at a affordable costs. Ensuring availability of health facilities and nurses and ensuring affordability of health insurance covers is an evident that shows that the Affordable Healthcare Act expects the government or the insurance will provide affordable health care to the patients in the US.
References
Herzlinger, R. (October 2008). Impact of Public Policy on Consumer-Driven Health Care. Retrieved 11 December 2013 from http://www.hbs.edu/centennial/businesssummit/healthcare/impact-of-public-policy-on-consumer-driven-health-care.html.
Rosenbaum S, Gruber J. (2010). Buying health care, the individual mandate, and the Constitution. N Engl J Med, 363: 401-403.
