The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - Essay Example

? Health Care Utilization Introduction This paper attempts to address the healthcare reforms enacted in the US context which has gradually taken the shape of a major concern with the recent amendment of healthcare law by President Obama in the year 2010 (MacAskill, 2010). With due emphasis to the healthcare reforms enacted recently, the discussion henceforth will aim at assessing the ways through which the recent reformative measures has influenced the access to care. Further implications of these changes on healthcare service utilization will also be considered in this study. The recent developments in this particular sector will also be evaluated in contrast with the notion of universal healthcare. Personal experiences and thoughts on this issue will be additionally connoted in this study. Effects of recent healthcare reform measures on access to care The enactment of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by President Barack Obama in the year 2010 is considered to be one of the most important measures that were taken for the overall development in the healthcare sector. The main aim of the act was to ensure proper health care services at affordable costs to a wide range of American citizens irrespective of their economic, cultural or social differences. The rapidly increasing healthcare cost in the US has undoubtedly become a major concern among policy makers and the common public in the current decade. In such circumstances, the enactment of the act which aims to encourage a larger population to obtain adequate healthcare assistance seems to have increased the access of US citizens to care. For instance, the act postulates that individuals who are even above 133% from the determined poverty level will be eligible for subsidies in their medical facilities. Additionally, small businesses and other sectors, which were previously observed to ignore medical facilities to their employees and employees’ families owing to cost concerns, will be considered eligible to receive governmental subsidies (Pittard, 2006). Altogether, these reforms are quite likely to create a positive influence on the access to care for US citizens. Influence of changes to access on health care service utilization Certainly, the aforementioned changes to access to healthcare in the US might impose significant influences on its utilization at almost every level of the sector. From a generalized point of view, the act fundamentally focuses on reducing the barriers of obtaining healthcare facilities rewarding greater access to the patients to low cost care assistances. This in turn may cause substantial negative impacts on the utilization of such facilities which has been the sole concern in arguments raised against the health reform. Even though this particular approach may be beneficial from a humanistic view point, an industrial concern towards the issue highlights significant limitations for the service providers in terms of costs. Notably, as service providers will have to deliver cost effective services to a larger base of population, high chances prevail concerning the comprised practice of ethically sound healthcare system. In other words, when attempting to deliver low cost health care to a larger population, organizations may have to comprise with quality too. Infrastructural limitations as well as legislative interventions may further raise conflicting issues within the system, hindering the utilization of the care at the ultimate level. The concept of universal health care and its reflection in the recent reform The concept of Universal Health Care (UHC) encompasses a wide perspective in the overall development of the health and financial perspective deciphered by an individual or a society. The concept includes various developmental features that are associated with increased amount of health care services along with proper output leading to improved health of the patients and the society at large. Thus, notion of UHC can simply be referred as the total coverage provided to the patients whereby they are assisted with improved health care services under affordable costs and with proper financial support from authoritative bodies (Pittard, 2006). The current health care reforms addressed in the US reflect various characteristics of UHC. For instance, the heath care services are aimed to provide proper cure and health benefits to a larger number of patients irrespective of their economic, socio-cultural or demographic differences. However, from a critical perspective, it can be observed that even though a certain extent of uniformity is maintained in the deliverance of care facilities to the patients, significant variances prevail in terms of the prices charged for the services to the ultimate clients. This particular aspect further indicates a contrast of the recent health reform with the notion of UHC. To be noted, the notion behind UHC advocates the deliverance of high quality health services at affordable expenses in accordance with the economic factors prevailing in a particular region which is somewhat ignored in the current reform; might not be during the application but certainly in its ultimate utilization (Pittard, 2006). My experience with health care expansion Health care expansion lays primary importance towards the improvement of the overall health of the people. With the intent of expansion and development in the health care units, the possibility of an improved nation also increases. My experience with health care expansion, although, had been very diverse. The developmental activities that took place were part of reforms provided with deeper understanding and knowhow about the level of importance of health care services in the modern world. From a generalized perspective, the expansion in health care that took in US through the recent reforms aimed to provide the people with various advantages which mainly covered the financial prospects of the system. However, as per my experience, these reformative measures are likely to create hurdles for the service providers to balance both cost and quality at a given margin. Hence, it is quite likely that the service providers may comprise with the quality aspects in order to deliver care assistances to a larger volume of population at a specified cost margin. Hence, as per my experiences, the health care expansionary reforms imposed both negative and positive effects on the overall system. Conclusion One of the primary aims throughout the reformative enactments in the healthcare sector had been concentrated on the accessibility of care to a larger group of population. Thus, the level upon which the services are made available to the general public and the extent to which these services deliver effective results, play a crucial role in the determination of the efficiency in the services. However, such enactments can be observed to impose both positive and negative impacts on the overall system efficiency which might become gradually apparent with the passing phase. References MacAskill, E. (2010). Barack Obama's healthcare bill passed by Congress. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/22/us-healthcare-bill-passes-congress Pittard, W. B. (2006). Health care utilization and cost for South Carolina Medicaid infants: variation with health care model enrollment. United States: ProQuest. Read More