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Running head: CURRENT AND FUTURE HEALTH POLICIES AFFECTING HEALTH CARE

Current and Future Health Policies Affecting Health Care

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CURRENT AND FUTURE HEALTH POLICIES AFFECTING HEALTH CARE

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Current and Future Health Policies Affecting Health Care
Introduction

In the year 2012, the former president Barrack Obama introduced the Patient Protection
Affordable Care Act (PPACA) commonly known as the Obama care. The primary role was to
reduce the number of low-income earners uninsured population in the US. Also, its mandate was
to improve the quality of services in health institutions. To some extent, the Act has achieved its
goal whereas, on the other hand, it has failed hence the recommendation for amendments and
changes; and the reason why the Trump government was against the policy. Therefore, the study
will analyze the impact of the success or failure of the ACA on the uninsured population.
Moreover, the research will discuss the recommendations necessary to make the Act more
successful.
Impact of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) on the Uninsured
Population
Before the introduction PPACA, health insurance was affordable to people with high
income in the community. The Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs did not consider the
needs of individuals with low income. However, the goal of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act is to reduce the number of uninsured low-income earners in the community
by expanding the Medicaid insurance program and the introduction of Health Insurance
Marketplaces. In the year 2014, the majority of the elderly below 400% of poverty had an
increased access health insurance hence reducing the number of uninsured in the region. In 2007,

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the Hispanics were the most uninsured compared to the white non-Hispanics. The introduction of
the ACA impacted positively on the Hispanics more by increasing the insurance coverage as
compared to the non-Hispanics. This statistics shows that the introduction of ACA has led to
equality in the provision of quality health care services among different communities in the US
(Rosenbaum, 2011).
Another impact of the ACA on the uninsured population is the improvement of the
quality of health care services among the various communities. Through the introduction of the
PPACA, there is efficiency in health care system where medical practitioners are more
accountable to the needs of the diverse populations. These acts reduce wasteful spending by
various stakeholders in the health industry. Furthermore, the Act has led to an increase in the
availability of primary and preventive health care which was not available to the uninsured
population. Long term policies and changes are put in place to ensure fulfillment of these goals.
Strategic investment in health care industry has also facilitated improvement in the quality of
services to the uninsured since the enactment of ACA (Kinney & Clark, 2004).
Even though the PPACA has had a positive impact on the number of uninsured in the
society, there are still negative effects as a result of this policy. For example, many people are
not registered as US citizens. The ACA act only covers for American registered population.
There is still a risk of the non-registered accessing quality and affordable health care services.
Even though the Act is implemented to ensure equity, the US citizens with high income view the
policy as negatively impacting on their earnings. The high-income earners are taxed more to
cover the medical insurance expenses of the middle and low-income earners hence reducing the
disposable income. Another adverse impact of the PPACA is the increased costs on the state and

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the federal government to incorporate and ensure the operation of the Act. The state
administrative expenses are likely to rise because of expansions of Medicare and Medicaid. Due
to this reason, some countries have not fully incorporated the increase in coverage of Medicare
and Medicaid insurance programs. The high cost of insurance under the PPACA has led to
negative impacts on both the economy and individuals. Hence, the reason to why the majority of
the people are still uninsured in the USA.
Evaluation of the Importance of Different Provisions
Various provisions in the health care insurance programs have contributed positively
towards the reduction of medical cost and improvement of the quality of services. Medicare
insurance program has improved the health conditions of people over 65 years and young people
with disabilities. It plays a significant role in the provision ...