The healthcare industry in the country is continuously evolving. There are people and organizations who argue that the industry is becoming increasingly bureaucratic, especially with the introduction of new policies and regulative procedures meant to protect the patients and systematize the process. On the other side, there are those who favor these kinds of development, arguing that the healthcare industry cannot rely on free market forces solely. In this paper, the author discussed at least three of the most impacting healthcare laws, policies, or regulations. The ones chosen were the Amendments to the Social Security Act 1965 (specifically the Title XVIII that created Medicare and Medicaid Services), the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan 1974, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2010. Collectively, these three represent only a small portion of the total development of the country’s healthcare system.
Medicare is one of the biggest healthcare projects the country has undertaken. It is essentially a national insurance program focusing on the provision of social services to covered individuals, specifically healthcare. American citizens aged 65 and older who managed to work and pay contributions to the system get supported by the program. Younger individuals who are suffering from various disabilities may also receive benefits from the program. In 2010, the program managed to provide affordable and accessible health insurance to more than 48 million Americans, making this one of the most high-impact laws ever passed. The act that created Medicare was passed in 1965 under Lyndon Johnson’s administration .
Seeing how effective national social service programs like Medicare turned out to be, future administrations started to focus on the end goal of being able to provide universal healthcare to the citizens. In most cases, universal means affordable and accessible. In some cases, some people think that universal healthcare is free healthcare. This can definitely happen for Medicare patients. To further improve the healthcare system, the Richard Nixon administration enacted the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan of 1974 (CHIP). The plan was based on seven principles. Collectively, those seven principles highlight the affordability and accessibility of healthcare both in the private and public systems. The said act was meant to improve the then already existing Medicare and Medicaid programs . It focused on a more balanced growth in stimulating the growth of accredited facilities so that more and more people could benefit.
And lastly would be the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This is more popularly known as the Obama-care. The goal of this act is, in principle, the same with that of the CHIP. The PPACA, however, is meant to transform the existing practices of hospitals and primary physicians. Under the current scheme, they are supposed to change their financial, technical, and clinical practices in such a way that healthcare costs and burden to the American public would be significantly reduced .
Just like other programs launched by previous administrations, this one centered on healthcare accessibility and affordability, specifically improvements in various methods of distribution. This act also aimed to push for an even higher level of insured rate, in an effort to protect Americans who are still not covered by any form of health insurance. This law also set the clearer grounds on the roles that employers and employees play when it comes to the process of acquiring health insurance.
In conclusion, all of these laws and acts have significantly changed the landscape of the American healthcare system today. They have managed to create an almost universal healthcare system for the Americans and that in itself is a great achievement. Although it took the country decades to fulfill this goal, one cannot deny the fact that these policies helped a lot of people get affordable and accessible healthcare and medical services.
References
Cohen, W., & Ball, R. (1965). Social Security Amendments of 1965 Summary and Legislative History. Social Security Bulletin.
Jones, D., Bradley, K., & Oberlander, J. (2014). Pascal's Wager: health insurance exchanges, Obamacare, and the Republican dilemma. Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law, 97-137.
Woolley, J., & Peters, G. (n.d.). Richard Nixon. The American Presidency Project, Retrieved from http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4337.
