MHA/505
Repairing the Affordable Care Act
University of Phoenix
Systems Thinking in Health Care Environments
MHA/505
Introduction
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was put into law on March 23, 2010 and
expanded health care coverage to a large number of uninsured individuals and families. It
made improvements in “quality of care”, invested in prevention, and started a new
outlook for “value-based care” (Silberman, P. 2020). The plan of this expanded roadmap
to health care was to create a wellness approach and improve access to care for those
vulnerable populations of the uninsured. There are still those that argue that the ACA is
not productive or not a good fit for the American people and it has been an election
agenda item more than once. We will address the brokenness and discuss the ways that
fixing the ACA can provide a more productive system for those in need of healthcare.
Also looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the ACA, if it is able to withstand the test
for its allowed time to continue as planned.
Affordable Care Act
In the US, when a new president is elected, there are new laws and changes
presented. When President Obama was elected one of his main goals was to provide a
healthcare plan that was reasonable for people who were not able afford it and to reform
healthcare. The healthcare law he provided is called Patient Protection and ACA also
known as (Obamacare) and was signed by President Obama, March 23rd, 2010. The ACA
can be reviewed as one of the most vital events that dramatically altered the US
healthcare system. The ACA has provided a great number of benefits and opportunities
, for US citizens, and the health care system has really become more affordable. However,
this law also has shortcomings and weaknesses that need to be addressed. ACA can be
defined as a healthcare reform, which managed to reach many goals and ensured the
inclusiveness of medical coverage for people; yet, it provided a limited choice of
healthcare professionals.
The most significant benefit of the ACA is that it provided accessible medical
service to the different population groups, which were uninsured before. According to
Manchikanti, et al. (2017), the rate of uninsured US citizens notably decreased from 16%
to 9% during the period from 2010 to 2015. The vital role of the ACA has become
obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic with relationships between physicians and their
patients. Many have received more opportunities and the patients started receiving more
reliable high-quality care (Beyer, 2021).
Despite the obvious strengths of ACA, its implementation also provided specific
shortcomings. ACA’s regulations limited the citizen’s ability of choosing preferred
doctors and other healthcare workers. The marketplace insurance plans also provide a
limited number of provider networks. Besides, not each state has decided to expand their
health insurance. As a result, not all people receive the needed access to health care and
some counties have only one or two exchange insurers to choose from (Moore, 2018).
To summarize everything stated above, the implementation of the ACA produced
significant strengths as well as weaknesses for the population of the US. The ACA was
created to enhance health insurance system as well as improve the quality of care.
However, I think there is still a room for improvement and some aspects need to be
modified in order to satisfy people’s needs. I am convinced that high quality healthcare
must be affordable to all citizens, and people should be provided with the possibility of
choosing the specialists according to their preferences.
Repairing the Affordable Care Act
University of Phoenix
Systems Thinking in Health Care Environments
MHA/505
Introduction
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was put into law on March 23, 2010 and
expanded health care coverage to a large number of uninsured individuals and families. It
made improvements in “quality of care”, invested in prevention, and started a new
outlook for “value-based care” (Silberman, P. 2020). The plan of this expanded roadmap
to health care was to create a wellness approach and improve access to care for those
vulnerable populations of the uninsured. There are still those that argue that the ACA is
not productive or not a good fit for the American people and it has been an election
agenda item more than once. We will address the brokenness and discuss the ways that
fixing the ACA can provide a more productive system for those in need of healthcare.
Also looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the ACA, if it is able to withstand the test
for its allowed time to continue as planned.
Affordable Care Act
In the US, when a new president is elected, there are new laws and changes
presented. When President Obama was elected one of his main goals was to provide a
healthcare plan that was reasonable for people who were not able afford it and to reform
healthcare. The healthcare law he provided is called Patient Protection and ACA also
known as (Obamacare) and was signed by President Obama, March 23rd, 2010. The ACA
can be reviewed as one of the most vital events that dramatically altered the US
healthcare system. The ACA has provided a great number of benefits and opportunities
, for US citizens, and the health care system has really become more affordable. However,
this law also has shortcomings and weaknesses that need to be addressed. ACA can be
defined as a healthcare reform, which managed to reach many goals and ensured the
inclusiveness of medical coverage for people; yet, it provided a limited choice of
healthcare professionals.
The most significant benefit of the ACA is that it provided accessible medical
service to the different population groups, which were uninsured before. According to
Manchikanti, et al. (2017), the rate of uninsured US citizens notably decreased from 16%
to 9% during the period from 2010 to 2015. The vital role of the ACA has become
obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic with relationships between physicians and their
patients. Many have received more opportunities and the patients started receiving more
reliable high-quality care (Beyer, 2021).
Despite the obvious strengths of ACA, its implementation also provided specific
shortcomings. ACA’s regulations limited the citizen’s ability of choosing preferred
doctors and other healthcare workers. The marketplace insurance plans also provide a
limited number of provider networks. Besides, not each state has decided to expand their
health insurance. As a result, not all people receive the needed access to health care and
some counties have only one or two exchange insurers to choose from (Moore, 2018).
To summarize everything stated above, the implementation of the ACA produced
significant strengths as well as weaknesses for the population of the US. The ACA was
created to enhance health insurance system as well as improve the quality of care.
However, I think there is still a room for improvement and some aspects need to be
modified in order to satisfy people’s needs. I am convinced that high quality healthcare
must be affordable to all citizens, and people should be provided with the possibility of
choosing the specialists according to their preferences.
