Discussion of Health Assessment
Response
It is indeed true that the Affordable Healthcare Act provides incentives for Americans to have better access to healthcare and health insurance coverage for their medical needs. Medicaid expansion, one of the pillars of the Act, was effected in 2014- and has grown to provide over 10 million Americans with affordable medical care. According to Obama (2016), the introduction of the Affordable Care Act has improved access to health services by 43%.
Additionally, the Act has ensured that non-elderly adults who were unable to access medical care in their old age, have regular treatment and attention to their health conditions. The Act has also led to other benefits in financial security, seeing as the Affordable Care Act has reduced the cost burden from Americans (Sommers et al., 2015). But even with the benefits the Act has introduced to the American Healthcare system, a majority of Americans still lack access to healthcare. The Act only assures health coverage up to a specific limit, which paralyzes any efforts for medical attention if some Americans are not eligible for coverage owing to their financial status. I would add to the government should steer more incentives for Americans to access healthcare based on the financial condition of many chronically unemployed people, the old and frail, and other needy cases.
References
Obama, B. (2016). United States health care reform: progress to date and next steps. Jama, 316(5), 525-532.
Sommers, B. D., Gunja, M. Z., Finegold, K., & Musco, T. (2015). Changes in self-reported insurance coverage, access to care, and health under the Affordable Care Act. Jama, 314(4), 366-374.
The individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act
Vera Brito Delgado
I agree with the sentiments that the Affordable Healthcare Act requires the minimum coverage to cover those at the bottom of the barrel. Indeed, numerous health challenges are facing Americans today. According to Rae et al. (2015), failure to subscribe to the provisions of the Act will attract a penalty of $695 for adults and $347.50 for children. For a family, the figure is calculated at $2,085. Individual mandate is a welcome provision in the Act as it helps secure the healthcare needs of those that would never have afforded medical treatment for chronic conditions. Secondly, individual shared mandate helps reduce the burden of medical expenditure on one family member (Frean, Gruber, & Sommers, 2017). In the event that the person is unable to fund the family, such a family would be inconvenienced. I would add that efforts to repeal the Act are unfounded and will only contribute to an unhealthy nation
References
Frean, M., Gruber, J., & Sommers, B. D. (2017). Premium subsidies, the mandate, and Medicaid expansion: Coverage effects of the Affordable Care Act. Journal of Health Economics, 53, 72-86.
Rae, M., Damico, A., Cox, C., Claxton, G., & Levitt, L. (2015). The cost of the individual mandate penalty for the remaining uninsured. The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation. Issue Brief.