Victoria Scheepers 

MondayDec 11 at 12:41am

What were the goals for Affordable Care Act?

The Affordable Care Act which was originally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare”, was enacted by President Barack Obama in March of 2010. The Affordable Care Act  (ACA) had three main objectives with its integration. Overall it was meant to overhaul the insurance market leading to a complete reform for individuals and small-group purchasers; it was to expand Medicaid to those with lower incomes and impact the way that medical decisions were to be made (Silvers, 2013). “A central goal of the ACA is to significantly reduce the number of uninsured Americans by providing affordable coverage through Medicaid and the health insurance marketplaces” (Shi & Singh, 2023, p. 295).

Expound on why or why not?

The Affordable Care Act has been able to successfully make much needed changes to the overall delivery to healthcare such as insurance expansion and use of information with technology but has not been able to achieve other needed impacts such as cost containment and quality improvement (Shi & Singh, 2023). Prior to the Affordable Care Act insurance companies were using medical underwriting to determine whether or not an individual was eligible for coverage, what they would be charged, and what exclusions or limitations they would be offered (National Academies Press, 2018). The Biden Administration has made large strides to carry on with the overall goal of the Affordable Care Act. “Biden’s vision for reform focuses on many core issues—for example, expanding access to care, reducing costs, and narrowing health disparities” (Shi & Singh, 2023, p. 296).

Based on literature, what is the expected future of health reform?

As inflation rises and increased utilization of technology within medical facilities, healthcare costs are rising without justification. The healthcare system will have to focus on balancing the needs of older generations that require acute care along with the younger population who will need outpatient care with quality experience, convenience and coordination of health and wellness programs (Schiavone & Ferretti, 2021). The future is difficult to predict since economic circumstances can change drastically in such a short time frame. Not to mention, household incomes are directly responsible for what a family can afford in regards to healthcare coverage and that largely depends on the quality of an individual’s employment (Shi & Singh, 2023). Having job security allows for individuals to share the burden of health care coverage with an employer. The pandemic created a major hurtle in job security and an individual’s ability to maintain coverage for themselves and their families when organizations did waves of layoffs. Healthcare is at an unfortunate crossroads since healthcare costs are higher than the government can afford, so in order for everyone to have coverage and access to needed care, the cost of health care has to be reduced and brought to meet the growth of the gross domestic product (Shi & Singh, 2023).

Biblical Integration

Scripture encourages us to care for our family and others equally and fair. Ironically many changes within the Affordable Care Act can be compared to instances within scripture and how we are instructed to apply God’s Word. In 1 Timothy 5:8, we are instructed to provide for our families just like extending healthcare coverage to the age 26 for dependents. Matthew 10:8 discusses healing the sick and cleansing lepers just like insurance companies who are no longer allowed to cancel coverage due to a diagnosis or new illness. While many may not have agreed with some of the changes, as Christians we must look at the design and how it aligns with our values to serve those around us.

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References

Schiavone, F., & Ferretti, M. (2021). The FutureS of healthcare. Futures, 134, 102849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102849

Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2023). Essentials of the U.S. health care system (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, p. 279.

Silvers J. B. (2013). The Affordable Care Act: objectives and likely results in an imperfect world. Annals of family medicine, 11(5), 402–405. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1567Links to an external site.

National Academies Press (2018) Health-Care utilization as a proxy in disability determination. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Health Care Services; Committee on Health Care Utilization and Adults with Disabilities. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US)Links to an external site.; 2018 Mar 1.

 I https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500102