According to Sara Rosenbaum, the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA)
Part I.
According to Sara Rosenbaum, the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA), one positive element is “a near-universal guarantee of access to affordable health insurance coverage, from birth through retirement” (Rosenbaum, 2011). A second positive element was that implication that the number of uninsured persons in the U.S. would be cut in half. A third positive element was to improve the fairness, quality and affordability of health insurance. These are chosen because the focus directly on people who either could not afford healthcare or who had pre-existing conditions and could not get healthcare. In the long run, taking care of people’s health needs, reduces the need for the community to take care of those who are ill.
Three negative elements of the PPACA were the tax increases, higher insurance premiums, and being fined if you don’t have insurance. These were chosen because they were the elements that affected middle class wage earners the most. So, we make insurance more affordable for some, and less affordable for others.
Part II
In week one, I knew little of the overall healthcare system except for the PPACA, and what I knew of that I had heard others say. I defined healthcare in terms of the PPACA that would increase the accessibility of healthcare to another 35-45 million people. I reasoned that this was good for the majority of Americans, but not for small businesses that were required to provide health insurance to qualified employees. Healthcare under the PPACA would prevent hospitalization and ER visits by using the preventative care.
I now think of healthcare in broader terms beside the PPACA. I now believe that healthcare is the protection and enhancement of physical and mental health through medical services for all. Healthcare systems are organizations with sufficient hospitals and multiple care physicians. They may be affiliated with business organizations that have the best care for the citizens possible.
The main difference between the two definitions is that my definition was too narrow and too specific. Although both definitions have an important element of “best care” the second one is specific in its makeup, but general in its services as well as payments for services.
In the next 5 or 10 years the healthcare system will continue to promote innovations in care with medical advances that safely relieve pain and suffering. While this is important, the healthcare systems will be more changed in accessibility, provisions, and payment for services. There will be an ever evolving workforce to accommodate the needs of workers and options for care.
Possible healthcare reforms will involve reforms in the health insurance market whose job it is to provide insurance for all as they combine the ability for low-and moderate-income individuals with financial assistance to purchase coverage. In addition, the federal government will provide generous federal support for states that wish to expand their Medicaid programs, helping even more low-income adults and seniors.
Medical innovation will move forward and people will be expected to live longer. These innovations may increase costs for a while as patents for medical equipment to provide these innovations are made. According to “Healthcare 2020” there will be ongoing transitions including “trends in payment reform, consumer choice, mergers and acquisitions, and innovation that are transforming the healthcare business model” (Healthcare 2020, n.d.).
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