American Life and Affordable Care Act - Essay Example

American Life Introduction Affordable care act (ACA) refers to an act that brought a lot of changes in the hospitals and in the healthcare system in the USA. The act is one of the popular Obama healthcare policies whose primary goal is to make medication affordable to USA citizens and people living in the country permanently. One of the major changes that the act has listed is the issue of extension of Medicaid (Gibson and Singh 71). Medicaid is meant for providing insurance coverage to US citizens who are not formally employed even though its compensation is much lower compared to that of Medicare and other private insurance covers. This act is likely to make health institutions suffer major financial blows due to flooding of Medicaid patients while on the other hand the ordinary citizens are benefiting a lot (Pipes 83). Janny Scott is a journalist by profession who published an article in the New York Times back in 2005 about the three people who were recovering from heart attack. These persons included Jean Miele, Will Wilson, and Ewa Rynczak Gora. Miele was a prominent businessperson and an architect as well with Ewa being a housekeeper whose economic status was unstable. However, this essay will focus on the Miele and Ewa to discuss the effects of social-economic status of the American citizens in recovery and exposure to chronic health risks such as heart attack. Miele was 66 years old, an architect by profession, and a prominent businessperson who was able to get the best treatment during his recovery because of his financial capability. He experienced heart attack while walking on a sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan on his way back to work. Immediately after the attack, he quickly received the emergency care he need urgently and in a private hospital. The article states that Miele was being treated by one of the best cardiologists. He could also get the medical attention as fast as possible (Budrys 85). For example, his arteries were reopened within two hours after the first symptom. All these were significantly contributed by a number of factors such as his level of education, social-economic status his working and living environment among others. The level of education, social class as well as the environment that a person is living are principal factors that determine a lot the rate of recovery of an individual particularly in USA. A patient can easily loose his or her life especially if he or she has come from a poor background where by the family members and friends cannot afford quality medication. This is manifested by the Miele’s case as explained in the New York Times. The social-economic status is one of the major elements that enabled Miele to recover from heart attack. Within two hours after the heart attack, Miele arteries had already been reopened by a well-experienced cardiologist in one of the best healthcare institution in the city. This happened due of his social-economic status since he was a well renowned and wealthy person. Miele received an excellent treatment involving operation of his arteries while on the other hand Ewa was being treated using medicine prescriptions. In addition, Miele’s recovery was highly contributed by the support he received from the family members, friends, and the medical practitioners. He could get all the necessary support he needed such as urgent and regular checks from the experienced doctor. Unlike Ewa, Miele did not have to queue or wait for long in order to get the attention he needed since he was a private hospital, while on the other hand Ewa had to wait for long before getting treatment. Moreover, it is clear that Miele emergency care was made possible because his friends and good neighbors whom gave the situation the emergency care it deserved. Moreover, during his recovery, the article states that his home could flock with guests who came to console and give him company, which are major social elements that patients need during their recovery or difficult moments. The article states that Miele was being visited even by his ex-wife and her husband. He was able to loose over 30 pounds through his wife’s support. This clearly shows that his level of education, social-economic status, family friends and his environment were some of the key elements that quickened his recovery. Ewa Gora was a working class woman who was living in New York but her origin was Poland. Because of her poor financial status, she could not afford quality medication and her condition could only be treated using medicine prescription despite the fact that it was similar to that of Miele. Due to her poor economic status, Ewa could only afford public hospitals, which are often over crowded hence delaying the process of attending the patients. This ends up delaying the overall recovery process (Kovner and Jonas 25). Ewa’s initial symptoms of heart attack revealed when she was resting in her rented room in Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, an area that is resided by people whose economic status is relatively poor. She was working as a housekeeper meaning that she was economically unstable. Her economic instability is also revealed by the fact that she told her husband not to call for an ambulance in fear of the high costs they would incur. Instead, she and her husband opted to use a home remedy that involves taking salty water and hypertension pills. Her level of education was also poor and she could hardly communicate fluently in English, a factor that had also denied her opportunities. Her level of education, family members particularly her husband, friends, her living environment among other factors that are determined by the social-economic class were some of the major barriers that were delaying her recovery. As stated in the article, she opted for a home remedy to manage such a serious condition that requires urgent care. Her education level was also the major determinant of her economic status, which greatly put her health in jeopardy. Her family members particularly the husband also failed in a big way towards attending her condition. The husband was fully convinced that the cost of ambulance could be higher hence joining her in preparing a home remedy in such a critical moment since heart attack is highly dreadful. Her neighbors did not also participated in helping her recover (Labarthe 56). Therefore, it is clear that the level of risk of chronic diseases is higher for the non-educated citizens than for the educated ones. In conclusion, Affordable care act (ACA) is the act that was introduced to cater for the inequalities that used to exist in the American healthcare sector. Initially, only the rich and people whose social-economic status is good could afford quality medication since they could afford eminent heath cover from Medicare and other private insurance companies. This meant that the type of medical care an individual would greatly rely on their social-economic status, a factor that led to the introduction of the ACA by the legislatures. The primary goal of the act is to ensure that “ordinary” USA citizens and persons living in the country permanently can afford medication by introducing affordable medical cover known as Medicaid. ACA achieves this through numerous ways such as engaging huge cuts in Medicare and Medicaid compensation to hospitals making treatment very affordable to the poor and middle class. If the act had been implemented by 2005, the act could have played a major role in ensuring that Ewa received quality medical care she deserved among many other poor residents like Ewa who could not afford the high costs of treatment relating chronic disease. Works Cited Budrys, Grace. “Unequal Health: How Inequality Contributes to Health or Illness”. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Pub. Group, 2010. Internet resource. Gibson, Rosemary, and Singh Janardan. “The Battle Over Health Care: What Obamas Reform Means for Americas Future”. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011. Print. Kovner, Anthony and Jonas Steven. “Jonas & Kovners Health Care Delivery in the United States”. New York: Springer Pub, 2011. Print. Labarthe, David “A Nationwide Framework for Surveillance of Cardiovascular and Chronic Lung Diseases”. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press, 2011. Internet resource. Pipes, Sally. “The Truth About Obamacare”. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub, 2010. Print. Read More