Introduction
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, is a health reform Act as assented to by President Barrack Obama on 23rd March 2010 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). This law was meant to bring changes to the health sector by making health services affordable and readily available to the citizens of the United States. The Act is intended to bring reforms to the health sector and to ensure the provision of quality and affordable healthcare services in the US. The primary intention of the Act is to ensure that all health providers provide quality and affordable health services. The law also wants to make sure that a majority; if not all of the United States citizens get a medical insurance policy. The Act also aims to eliminate the restrictions that insurance places on people in regard to getting health insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 comprises of nine titles which summarize the changes that are intentioned for the health sector.
1. The Act ensures that all American citizens receive quality and affordable healthcare (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
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2. The Role of Public Programs is defined, and this ensures that low-income earners receive Medicaid services without restrictions (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
3. Improvement of the Quality as well as the Efficiency of Health Care (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
4. Prevention of Chronic Diseases alongside the improvement of Public Health (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
5. Improvement of health care personnel and workers (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
6. Assurance of transparency and accountability in health care programs (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
7. The Act provides Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
8. Revenue provisions which impose a new levy tax of 40% to insurance companies (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
9. Improvement of Access to Innovative Medical Therapies, which ensures that better and discounted healthcare is given to children and the underprivileged (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
Title I. Affordable and quality health care to all citizens of America
This part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ensures massive reforms with respect to health insurance companies. The Act provides that all insurance companies remove the restrictions to getting health insurance, and that they accept all of the applications made for health insurance. All insurance companies are required to provide similar conditions and rates so that people can have an easy time when shopping for a health insurance. The Act also obligates health insurance companies to improve the existing terms and conditions of provision of medical cover, but without increasing the insurance premiums. This reform continues to ensure that health insurance is affordable for all American citizens.
As provided for in the Act, employers are to pay penalties for the employees who get credits from health insurance companies. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires that all states provide Exchanges for small employers and that all people will have gotten covered by health insurance by the year 2014 (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).The Act ensures that insurance companies provide health coverage to four levels, all of which show how much the insurer pays. Employers in the US, who had 200 employees and above, are required to enroll all full-time employees into the health insurance (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
Title II. Role of Public Programs
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required the states to increase Medicaid eligibility to children and low-income earners by 1st January 2011 (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010). By January 1, 2014, the Act had required that all children and older people who are not under the Medicare and their income are up to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level, automatically get enrolled in the Medicaid (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010). The Act provides that the US federal government pays for all of the costs of covering new eligible members in the Medicaid between the years 2014 and 2016 (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010). From 31st December 2013, all American States are required to keep similar income eligibility for all of the older people. Moreover, the same case should apply to all children who are enrolled in the Medicaid up to 30th September 2019 (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010). By 1st March 2010, the Act provides that both Medicare and Medicaid should be linked, both at federal and at state government levels (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
Title III. Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act want to improve the health services given to people who are under the Medicare and the Medicaid. Physicians are to be given incentives so that they provide better services to people. As from 2012, the health care providers are required to provide feedback about the services they give to the people (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010). From the Fiscal year 2014, health care providers are required to participate in the quality evaluation, and a penalty is imposed on those who do not participate (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010). The Act will also ensure that healthcare infrastructure is improved so as to increase service delivery to patients.
The Act also provides for the establishment of an innovation center both for Medicare and Medicaid services so as to improve payment and delivery arrangements. The Act will also enlighten doctors and health providers to improve the care and services given to patients. As from the year 2012, hospital payments are to be changed according to the value of individual hospital (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010). The Act provides that immediate relief should be provided to areas that have been affected by natural disasters and also, champions the increase of health services that’s given in the rural areas. Between 1st July 2010 and 1st July 2011, the Act allows that the rural hospitals receive funds for lab services (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010). From the year 2013, the Act will ensure accuracy in payment of services (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
Title IV. Prevention of Chronic Disease and Improving Public Health
The Act sets several measures to improve services that deal with prevention of chronic diseases. A prevention council will be formed, and this will deal with the prevention of illness. The Act will ensure that all the barriers to access prevention services are removed. The Act also will provide grants to eligible organizations so that they can provide chronic illness prevention services. Grants will also be made to health departments and state governments for them to conduct research on the risk factors that affect the older generation, which is most predisposed to the risk of contraction of chronic diseases. The Act also requires the government to acquire adult vaccines which are meant to prevent chronic diseases in older people.
Title V. Health Care Workforce
The Act also ensures that the healthcare workforce is competent and efficient by providing options for the training, recruitment, and retention of healthcare workers. This strategy is meant to improve the quality of services given to patients. New training infrastructure will be provided so as to improve the education of the workforce. The Act also will ensure that support is given to the existing workforce in order for them to improve their medical service delivery.
Title VI. Transparency and Program Integrity
The Act ensures that there are transparency and accountability in the health programs that receive sponsorships and funding from the government, both at the state and at federal levels. These programs are required to provide information to the public about how they have used the funds granted to them. Nursing facilities, whether under the Medicaid or the Medicare, are required to provide ownership information to the public. This part of the Act is meant to keep the health programs on toes so as to avoid corruption within the health sector.
Title VII. Improvement of Access to Innovative Medical Therapies
The Patient Protection and Affordable Act of 2010 wanted to provide affordable health services to children and to alienated communities. Drug discounts are to be given to cancer patients, rural referral hospitals and children hospitals. The Act will also support innovation in the health department, in order to improve the quality of service (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
Title VIII. Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS)
The Act established the CLASS program, which provides assistance services and support to people with disabilities. The insurance program is voluntary and self- funded and therefore, no taxpayer’s money will be used in the CLASS insurance program. The program is meant to provide benefits to patients with functional disabilities (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
Title IX. Revenue Provisions
This part of the Act gives rules that will govern the collections of revenue by health care facilities. The Patient Prevention and Affordable Care Act provides that all employers provide transparent information pertaining to the health benefits that are given to employees. As from January 1, 2010, the act has imposed taxes on the performance of cosmetic surgery, acting on the requests of patients (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010).
Potential Success and Failures
The Act was signed into law by the US President Barrack Obama so as to bring massive reforms to the health sector. Most of the provisions of the Act have been received well by the medical facilities. In only a few years after the law’s enactment, most American citizens have acquired health insurance policies. The Act ensured that health insurance companies removed restrictions for applicants, and also, ordered them to receive all applications without any bias. The other success that the Act has brought into the health care sector is that patients continue to be able to access quality and affordable services, seeing as this is no longer expensively limiting. The Act also ensures transparency in the health programs that receive funding from the federal government, therefore, ensuring that public funds are managed well, and this dissuades misappropriation on the part of public health administrators.
Despite the Act having succeeded in reforming the health sector, several failures may be encountered. First, the funds provided by the federal and states governments to improve the quality of healthcare services may be misappropriated or mismanaged. Health administrators may get greedy and use the funds in the pursuit of selfish personal interests. The Act may also receive criticism, as not everyone will accept the reforms well. There are people who are not open to change and get comfortable in doing things the old way. Financial challenges may also be encountered in the course of the reformation that has been provided for in the Act. If quality and affordable health services are to be given to the Americans, it means that a lot of funds will be used in the process.
References
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act . (2010). Retrieved from https://www.dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill04.pdf
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). Read the Law . HHS.gov . Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-law/read-the-law/#
