The health care system in the United States is quite unique. The health care system has undergone several changes throughout its history. All the historical changes and advancement were made to ensure that the health care provided would be of high quality and would address the larger population. There have been health care policies that have been addressed throughout history that include insuring of people outside employment, motivating and improving the efficiency of health insurance, controlling the rising costs for health insurance, and regulating government spending on health care. This paper strives to analyze the historical timeline of the United States system of health care and create a prediction of how current health care reform policies will impact the future of health care.
Significant Health Care Events in the United States
1847: The American Medical Association (AMA) was founded in on May 1847. The aim of the organization was to create standards for medical procedures, promote scientific advancement, and establish a program for ethics in health care. The AMA has played a huge role in medical advancement and development of medicine in the United States.
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1887: The year marked the establishment of the Laboratory of Hygiene by Doctor Joseph J. Kinyoun. This led to the discoveries of understanding various diseases such as smallpox, bubonic plague, yellow fever, smallpox, and cholera. The institution saw the start of the National Institute of Health and influenced government research in the United States.
1915: The American Association of Labor Legislation (AALL) was established to improve worker reimbursement in the United States. The AALL laid the groundwork for various social programs that are in effect today. Some of the programs put in place were women’s compensation, pensions, and insurance for the unemployed.
1935: The Social Security Act was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt into law in August 1935. The act provided a new system of social insurance programs and welfare which included various benefits for widows, children, and individuals that are unemployed.
1965: There was a social security amendment that took place in July 1965. Medicare and Medicaid programs were part of the law because of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Millions of Americans could obtain inexpensive and comprehensive health insurance. Medicare provided medical coverage for individuals above the age of 65 while Medicaid provided health insurance for individuals of low-income.
1972: The Public Law was registered by President Richard Nixon in October 1972. The law broadened the coverage of Medicare to the handicapped who had not gotten the benefits of Social Security. The law further covered individuals with kidney illness and reinforced efforts to help citizens that were handicapped.
1986: The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) was passed to law by President Ronald Regan. The Act required that hospital emergency departments would screen all patients seeking emergency care. The act provided accessibility to emergency care services for everyone regardless of their ability to pay.
1996: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) was established under the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The act set the national standard for companies to deal with protected health information. It established a privacy rule where the standard for health information that would be held and transmitted digitally.
2003: The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) was established as a new program for Medicare drugs that would create a flexible, complete, and voluntary prescription. The program benefited individuals that had restricted coverage for outpatient prescriptions.
2010: The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed by President Barack Obama. The Act, also referred to Obamacare, provided comprehensive care made health insurance more affordable for individuals that had no coverage.
Health Care Reform Policies and Their Impacts
One of the recent health care reforms that can alter the future of health care is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that was put in place by President Barack Obama. The law put comprehensive reforms in place which resulted in the improvement of health care quality, affordability, and access. The Act can be considered as one of the most notable extension and overhaul of the United States healthcare system since 1965 when Medicare and Medicaid were passed into law. Even though the Affordable Care Act failed to accomplish its main goal of providing uniformed affordable insurance for all of the residents and citizens in the United States, the law succeeded in enabling more than 20 million individuals to gain health care coverage. The act made changes regarding health care plans and the changes are supposed to be experienced and seen in the coming years.
One of the most significant accomplishments of the Affordable Care Act was that it created a shift in the expectations and standards for how health care in the United States work. The Affordable Care Act is expected that it will push politicians in the near future to make expansive promises regarding medical coverage for every American. The Act has been seen in the recent years to have called for lowering health insurances prices. It is expected that there should be more insurance options for patients to choose from and to decide on what happens in the hospitals which they purchase.
The Affordable Care Act is expected to be successful in reforming health care in the United States. Policy makers are continually building on developments and growth that that were created by the Affordable Care Act. It is expected that policy makers should act on these policies to create a better and more efficient health care for various citizens in the United States. Additionally, it is expected that there will be more resources put by the federal financial assistance programs for individuals that are seeking health coverage. Problems such as huge costs for health care in the United States compared to other developed countries is expected to be handled adequately with new policies. Additionally, various health care reforms are expected to handle various challenges such as prescriptions, insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles that exist in the current health care system.
The current health care reform policies that can alter the future of health care will be highly dependent on technology. Over the recent years, there has been significant improvements and development in technological tools and instruments that have enabled health care providers to improve their decision making process. Technology has become integral for the gathering and collection of data that is used for clinical decision-making and perfecting clinical records and payment schedules. New technology is expected to have computerized programs and systems that will have predictive analytics on issues such diagnosis, the best form of care, and the treatment options available. In the recent future, it is expected that technology will provide support to physicians and improve the overall quality of care.
