Pandemics Placed Healthcare System in Turmoil

 The current health care system in the United States is in turmoil for many years because of two major problems which continues to be: patient access to care and the cost of care. There are well over 50 million Americans who continue to be uninsured today and a national health care tax called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 has been passed and challenged and upheld by the United States Supreme Court, as a tax not a law, here recently which is suppose to be an answer to most of our health care insurance issues.

 Even though most Americans may agree that our health care system is in turmoil and needs to be reformed, not everyone agrees that a national health care tax is the solution. In the United States as the health care system continues to be in turmoil the patients are continuing to struggle to keep their medical care and that can be either if they are trying to maintain at least a standard of care or just simply hoping that the medical facility that they may prefer, such as a local hospital or community center will be able to stay in business, or that they will have continued accessed to emergency rooms even if they are the uninsured.

In the midst of this health care system turmoil there are other segments in the health care sector that may be experiencing financial problems, such as hospitals in these three states, (New Jersey, California and New York). In New York several hospitals are already seeking protection under the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy code after the Berger Commission proposed fast moving changes to their health care system. (Traurig, 2009). Most Americans main health care concerns are still revolving around access to care and the cost of care. Most Americans do agree that the health care system needs to be reformed with less saying the system is in crisis with more saying the health care system has major problems. After the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, the views of most Americans did not change. Americans seem to be even more upset over the cost and access to care even more than the quality of care that is given. It is amazing to note that when most Americans when asked what they think the most important health care issue facing the United States the cost and access to care remains the most common response. (Newport, Jones, & Saad, 2012). Americans living in rural areas have found out that getting access to quality health care is not only hard to obtain but very expensive.

People who live in rural areas have the highest rates diseases that are chronic, poverty is higher, an having no insurance, and there are limitations to having access to primary care physicians to millions of rural Americans. Since the economy is going through a downturn, this has the potential to cause a rise in a number of access and health issues that are already causing problems in communities in rural areas.(HealthReform.Gov., 2012). This is where the new health care tax or the Patient Protection and Affordable Act of 2010 will play one of its greatest roles which is its main goal which is to allow coverage to all residents of the United States and thereby improving the delivery of needed health care to rural parts of America. (Becker & Dunn, 2012). A national health care system such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care of Act of 2010 that was passed in March that year, appears to offer some solutions to a great number of major issues facing our health care system. In June of 2012, this new health care law or tax was challenged in the U. S. Supreme on the Constitutionality of the bill with proponents wanted the Act repealed. A few weeks later the Supreme Court gave its answer which was the law or tax is Constitutional and upheld it as tax. One of the biggest issues to this Act was the part where all Americans have to be insured by someone or be penalized, but the final analysis of this big issue turns out to be there really is no form of payment or fee for any American who may choose not to purchase health insurance. Some benefits of having a national insurance system such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) include: 1. Ending the long-time discrimination by most insurance companies based upon a pre-existing condition and your current health status. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), persons seeking health insurance while they already have a pre-existing condition who could not previously obtain health insurance will be able to purchase an affordable health insurance plan which will be subsidized under the 'high-risk pool". 2. The ACA will provide choices of health insurance that are affordable. Under this national insurance system, a large number of Americans will be able to obtain affordable insurance because of the creation of health insurance exchanges which will allow families to compare health plans and then be able to choose a plan that fit their needs. These exchanges will guarantee families or persons that there will always be a quality and affordable health care plan available to them even if there is a

change in their employment, if they become ill and even if they lose their job. 3. The ACA will also provide for small businesses a tax credit to allow them to purchase their health benefits. 4. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will also decrease out-of-pocket spending for Americans, especially in rural areas. This reformed health insurance will puts limits on how much insurance companies can expect an individual to pay out-of-pocket. (HealthReform.Gov., 2012). There are other benefits to having a national universal insurance system such as the cost of visiting an emergency room should be less and there should be less of an administrative burden for health care providers by getting rid of the method of charging for unnecessary paperwork. (Grumbach, 2009). There are also risks involved in the creation of a national health insurance system such as the Affordable Care Act of 2010. A national health care insurance system guarantees all of its citizens at least the right to basic insurance coverage, the cost which is expected to be around $938 billion over a ten-year period, but will lessen the federal deficit by $138 billion over that same period of time in an already weakened economy which poses a great risk, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). (The NY Times, 2012). Other risks include having a mandate stating that all Americans must purchase health insurance or face penalty, even though no penalty is actually defined in the Act, this still poses a risk when it looks like the government will be forcing all Americans to purchase health insurance and another risk of concern on how much involvement should government have in healthcare. . (Newport, Jones, & Saad, 2012). Some questions that maybe all Americans should be asking themselves now that a national health insurance system is in place called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, and that is how and who will be actually paying for this system? Also, will this new reformed health care system totally address and solve the issue of patient access to care and the continued rise in the cost of care of all Americans today. According to national research and polls there is no secret that most Americans realize that the health care system in the United States needs to be and must be reformed no matter what type of economy will are living through right now and maybe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may be the beginning of this occurring even if there are many benefits as well as risks

involved.

References:

Grumbach, K., (2009). Redesign of the Healthcare Delivery System. JAMA, 302(21). Retrieved from website http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=184965. HealthReform.Gov., (2012). More Choices, Better Coverage, Health Insurance Reform and Rural America. Retrieved from website http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/ruralamerica/index.html. Newport, F., Jones, J., & Saad, L., 2012). Gallup Editors: American' Views on the Healthcare Law, Americans are at best divided in support for the law. Retrieved from website

http://www.gallup.com/poll/155300/gallup-editors-americans-views-healthcare-law.aspx. The New York Times, Aug., (2012). Health Care Reform. Retrieved from website http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insur

ance_and_managed_care/health_care_reform/index.html.

Traurig, G., (2008/2009). Turmoil in the healthcare industry: what about the patients? The Americas Restructuring and Involvency Guide. Retrieved from website http://www.americasrestructuring.com/08_SF/p100-106%20Turmoil%20in%20the%20healthcare%20industry.pdf.