____________ University
In recent times, Americans have experienced an increase in health care cost which has made it difficult for many citizens to gain access to medical care. Furthermore, the recession has raised the number of Americans who do not have access to health care because they are uninsured due to the reduction in their benefits or the loss of their jobs. Experts predicted that the number of uninsured citizens will continue to increase if there is not a solution in place that would help struggling Americans. As a result, America would face an economic crisis if there was a lack of effort to help the uninsured to gain the access to health care. There were multiple attempts in the past to reform the American health care system. However, the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or the PPACA, was a turning point for the health care system in the United States. It is not known if access to health care is guaranteed when more people have access to affordable insurance. Additionally, the social and economic affordability of the costs of health care and insurance is unknown. The United States has yet to answer if health care is a fundamental human right and should be available to all citizens regardless of the affordability. There are those who argue that health care should be accessible to those who are employed by businesses that can afford to pay to insure its workers and to those in society which meets the social programs qualifications.
It is possible that implementing the PPACA can be both beneficial and negative for the American citizens. In the past, some Americans were denied health care coverage due to pre-existing diseases or illnesses. The PPACA allows people to find health coverage and does not discriminate based on any pre-existing health issues. Also, the PPACA will create a system in the United States that is similar to other nations which are industrialized. This means the United States will move closer to having a system which is considered to be primary care physician based. The PPACA implementation would create an increase in insured citizens who will need primary physician care. However, the negative side of PPACA implementation is that having adequate or necessary health care insurance coverage does not guarantee that citizens will have access to health care. It is possible that the United States might have a shortage of primary care physicians to see to the health needs of the newly insured. In order to prevent the shortage of physicians due to the increase in insured Americans, the PPACA has increased residency program grants. Additionally, there have been efforts to package payment across providers by getting physicians and hospitals to work together. New health care models which would pay physicians for patients’ improvement are supported by the legislation. The outcome payments will go towards developing ways to decrease the infant mortality rate, increase the life expectancy, and improve the condition of care that the poor receives in the United States. While the United States continue to debate about health care coverage, other models of medical insurance have been implemented in other places.
There are several models of medical insurance such as the Beveridge model, the Bismarck model, and the National Health Insurance model. The Beveridge model is a health care system in which the government uses taxes to finance and provide health care to its citizen. In this system, many of the hospitals and clinics are government-owned, and doctors are employees of the government. However, under this system, there are some private clinics, hospitals, and doctors. Fees for private services are paid for by the government. Beveridge Model system, per capita, is low costs because the government has control over what a doctor charges for services and what services are provided. In the Bismarck Model, it is both the employee and the employer that help fund the national health insurance through payroll taxes which are compulsory. Insurance companies under the Bismarck model are non-profit, private entities which have their services and fees that are heavily regulated. Furthermore, people with health conditions which are pre-existing are not excluded from coverage. Insurance is not allowed to drop people who develop health condition later in life. For the most part, doctors and hospitals are private, and patients do pay small co-payments for health care. This model is considered a multi-payer system because there are many private health insurance companies people can use to pay for services that are not covered by the national health system. The National Health Insurance Model is mostly privately provided. The government is the only payer. Money is collected by the national insurance plan. Since the national health insurance pays the health care bills, there are no deductibles or co-payments. Doctors and facilities are majority private and the medical bills are paid for by the government. In the America, the health care issue continues to be debated.
Americans have known for a long time that there is a need for health care reform. The recession has increased the urgency for new health care reform. As the amount of uninsured increased due to the economic downturn, pressure increased on the American health care system. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed which had both benefits and negative implications for the future of the health care system in the United States.
References
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2013, April 25). Summary of the Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from http://kff.org/health-reform/fact-sheet/summary-of-the-affordable-care-act/
