Health Care Reform in America - Research Paper Example

Health Care Reform in America INTRODUCTION Section 1: A. Why Health Care Reform is important to all Americans The status of the delivery of health care in America is seen by policymakers, health care practitioners and the general population as requiring significant changes that aim to improve access and affordability to all. As indicated by Holstein and Litzinger (2008, 15), “in the U.S., the rapid rise in health care cost and low access are widely recognized as twin problems. Health care reform in this country first focused on cost containment through managed care to make health insurance affordable, and then shifted to expanding access to coverage at the state level without doing away with the private health insurance market”. The contention was supported by authors Siegel, Mead and Burke (2008) who revealed an analogous argument in the rising costs of health care services coupled with the increasing number of Americans who are uninsured. B. Reality of Health Care in the US The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) emphasized that “some 47 million U.S. residents have no health insurance, and the numbers keep growing” (AFL-CIO, 2011, par. 1). In view of this, the current administration has enacted the Affordable Care Act that envisions implementing “comprehensive health insurance reforms that will hold insurance companies more accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee more health care choices, and enhance the quality of health care for all American” (USDHHS: Health Care, n.d, par. 1). C. Purpose of Health Care Reform The purposes of the reform are as follows: to broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insurance programs or private sector insurance companies; to expand the array of health care providers consumers may choose from; to improve the access to health care specialists; to improve the quality of health care; to give more care to citizens; and to decrease the cost of health care, among others. (PLS CITE YOUR SOURCE) Health care reform is therefore important to all Americans in terms of making health care accessible to more affordable health coverage through the following strategies, to wit: “(1) sets up a new competitive private health insurance market; (2) holds insurance companies accountable; and (3) puts our budget and economy on a more stable path” (USDHHS: Health Care, n.d., pars. 6 to 8). Section 2: The History and the Evolution of the Issue in Health Care The major issues in health care that significantly traced its historical evolution are sourced from The Henry J. Kaiser Family of Foundation (2011) and enumerated herewith, as follows: 1965 President Lyndon Johnson Lyndon enacted legislation which introduced Medicare covering both hospital and general medical insurance for senior citizens paid for by a Federal employment tax over the working life of the retiree, and Medicaid permitted the Federal government to partially fund a program for the poor, with the program managed and co-financed by the individual states. 1985 The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to give some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment. 1997 The State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, was established by the federal government in 1997 to provide health insurance to children in families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. 2010 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Patient Protection is enacted by President Barack Obama providing for the phased introduction over four years of a comprehensive system of mandated health insurance with reforms designed to eliminate "some of the worst practices of the insurance companies" — pre-condition screening and premium loadings, policy rescinds on technicalities when illness seems imminent, lifetime and annual coverage caps. These significant events mark the changes reflecting the delivery of health care to identified sectors of the economy that were deemed socially and economically marginalized. Section 3: The Implications of the Health Care Reform Issue A. Obama-Biden Plan The features of the health care reform is proffered in the Obama – Biden plan with clear objectives to revitalize the American economy in terms of the creation of jobs, provision of immediate relief to the needy and struggling families, including homeowners directly affected by the financial crisis, among others (Office of the President – Elect, n.d, par. 2). Likewise, the plan aims to invest in electronic health information technology systems and to improve access to prevention and proven disease management programs (Obama Biden, 2009). Thus, the health care reform has relevant implications in the administration’s move to address the effect of the financial crisis. B. Help patient Other significant implications are manifested in the following categories, to wit: (1) to help patient through support in disease management programs; coordination and integration of patient care; and in ensuring full transparency regarding quality and costs. C. Ensure providers deliver quality care To ensure providers deliver quality care, the reform envisions the promotion of patient safety, aligning incentives for excellence, providing comparative reviews and research on health related issues, addressing significant disparities in health care, and focusing on medical issues to prevent malpractice. D. Lower Costs by taking on anticompetitive actions in the drugs and insurance companies One of the most relevant aims of the reform is to make access to health care services more affordable. This can be done by lowering costs through taking on anticompetitive actions in the drugs and insurance companies. In effect, there are implications in the following: increase in competition in the insurance industry; prevention of private insurance waste and abuse in Medicare; provision for consumers to import safe drugs from other countries; prevention of drug companies from blocking generic drugs from consumers; and allowance for Medicare to negotiaCte for cheaper drug prices, among others. E. Affordable, accessible coverage options for all Concurrent in making health care services more affordable, the reform plans to make guaranteed eligibility to a larger number of the population; the ability to select from new and affordable health insurance coverages; the ability to avail of tax credits for families and small businesses; a closer evaluation of contribution by employers, that would require inclusion of beneficiaries, especially children; and the expansion of the Medicaid and SCHIP. F. Reduce Costs of Catastrophic illnesses for employers and their employees The health reform would enable practitioners to focus on components that increase costs and expenditures in the federal budget. As a consequence, there would be reduction of costs of catastrophic illnesses for both employers and their employees. G. Public Health Finally, public health awareness would be enhanced as employers; school systems and the workforce are informed of the benefits and features of the health care reform. References American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). (2011). What’s Wrong with America’s Health Care. Retrieved 08 April 2011. < http://www.aflcio.org/issues/healthcare/whatswrong/index.cfm#> Holstein, A. and Litzinger, P. (2008). “Health Care System Financing And Design: Convergent Trends In North America And Europe.” International Business & Economics Research Journal, Volume 7, Number 10, pp. 15 – 20. Obama Biden. (2009). Retrieved 08 April 2011. Siegel, B., Mead, H. and Burke, R. (2008). “Private Gain and Public Pain: Financing American Health Care.” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, pp. 644 – 651. The Henry J. Kaiser Family of Foundation (2011). Timeline: History of Health Reform Efforts in the U.S.. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (USDHHS). (n.d.). About the Law. Retrieved 08April 2011. < http://www.healthcare.gov/law/about/index.html> Read More