In 2010, the American health care system was completely overhauled with the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; amended later by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. In these changes, a broken system that left many American citizens uninsured will gradually become the means by which all Americans will receive health insurance, for better or worse. The PPACA is meant to address the pervasive issue of the increasing number of Americans who live without insurance. Due to economic recessions and downturns, as well as high unemployment, increased self-employment, and increasingly cost-prohibitive insurance costs, many Americans do not have access to affordable health care. With this, American citizens will rightfully be able to exercise their right to health insurance.
The PPACA is meant to address these issues by opening up the risk pool of those insured by mandating that everyone have insurance - this is meant to bring costs down and allow greater access to insurance, thus increasing preventative care and driving down medical costs altogether. The point of the plan is that there are no uninsured American citizens; people are forced to purchase a health care insurance plan by 2014, which is why the whole system has been made more affordable. Medicaid and Medicare services are expanded, and prescription drugs are also reduced in cost. Because the risk pool is so low, however, insurance companies will not have to charge as much to effectively cover emergency services and those who do not pay. The media depiction of the PPACA varies depending on political party; conservative media decries it as "socialism," and uses the term "Obamacare" as a pejorative. Supporters of the bill state that it will make health care more affordable and allow those who need healthcare to have it; it prevents predatory insurance providers and a bloated healthcare system that costs an arm and a leg for the simplest procedure. However, there are also those who state that there has not been enough research done on the ramifications of this services. They believe that health care should be privatized, and that the government should not be given that much control over the health of their citizens. These media outlets claim that the government is trying to create "socialized healthcare," when in fact the PPACA is creating a free market solution by mandating a larger client base; the media's mischaracterization of the bill causes a great deal of miscommunication. The PPACA is a great change for American health insurance; ideally, both liberals and conservatives should like it, because it creates a free market solution to a pervasive social problem. More people will be able to get the health care they need, and insurance companies will benefit from more overall customers, and a consumer base that is actually mandated to buy from them.
The biggest impact on our health care system will be the aforementioned requirement that all Americans will have a basic health care plan. In essence, it will cost a great deal less to many Americans if they can get affordable, persistent and preventative care; as it stands now, many Americans simply wait until something goes wrong to get treatment, and then it may be too late (or far too expensive to afford). At the same time, that will lower the demand for high-cost and complex medical procedures and equipment, as prevention will lower instances of emergency surgery and operations. With the PPACA, more Americans will be encouraged to maintain good health habits and take care of themselves, leading to a happier and healthier American public.
Works Cited
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Rappaport, A. M., Wojcik, S., & Baxter, M. “The Impact of Health Care Reform on Older Workers, Retirees and Employers.” Benefits Quarterly, 27(1), 26-33, 2011.
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