ARTICLE REVIEW OF HEALTH INSURANCE1

Article Review of Health Insurance

Following the American Psychological Association Style Guide

Name

Professor

Introduction

Given the political economy of medicine, I will discuss the logical and political constraints in the design of health-insurance reform. The article for review is by The Century Foundation called “Key Proposals to Strengthen the Affordable Care Act” (Jost & Pollack, November 25, 2015). This essay will also discuss health resources for the African American woman and Hispanic women as discussed in the book by Ebron and McCloud (2003).

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Despite the number of problems that have occurred with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), what the ACA has accomplished is to manage to enrol millions of Americans into having health insurance to provide for their health needs (Jost & Pollack, November 25, 2015). Here is a list of some of the accomplishments which the ACA has achieved:

  • The number of uninsured health insurance Americans has been reduced by 17.6 million.

Figure 1 shows an indication of where the numbers fall in this regard:


  • Hospital expenditures for uninsured Americans have dived down to $7.4 billion.
  • Healthcare expenses have grown at a rate following inflation.
  • Expenses on public health have slowed down.

Figure 2 shows the numbers in this regard:

There are a number of positive improvements that have occurred along with the ACA despite the lawsuits and flaws and weaknesses of the ACA (Jost & Pollack, November 25, 20215). It will be interesting to see how the new government in the United States moves forward with the accomplishments of the ACA.

African American Woman’s Health

Many African American women suffer from higher rates of disease than that of their White counterparts. What Ebron & McCloud (2003) suggest is that there be more of a focus on the knowledge that is out there concerning health ailments and an attention to the spiritual elements of prayer associated with health that African American women can focus on (Ebron & McCloud, 2003). Ebron & McCloud (2003) also note that having healthcare facilities in urban areas and with more African American doctors in urban centers would also help African American’s health.

Hispanic Women’s Health

Ebron & McCloud (2003) also focus on the health of Hispanic women and note that they suffer to a lesser degree from difficult aspects with healthcare as do African American women do when compared to their White counterparts. Ebron & McCloud (2003) also note that connecting with the spiritual aspects of health for Hispanic women, as well as more knowledge about health and what ails them will improve their health standards. Plus more healthcare facilities that speak the languages that Hispanic women need would also be helpful.

Conclusion

Given the political economy of medicine, I discussed the logical and political constraints in the design of health-insurance reform. The article for review is by The Century Foundation called “Key Proposals to Strengthen the Affordable Care Act” (Jost & Pollack, November 25, 2015).

Reference

Ebron, A. & McCloud, M.T. (2003). Blessed Health: The African American Woman’s Guide to

Physical and Spiritual Health. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Jost, S. T. & Pollack, H. (November 25, 2015). “Key Proposals to Strengthen the Affordable

Care Act,” The Century Foundation. United States: The Century Foundation. Retrieved from: