Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:
Three Modifications to Health Policy and the Impact of these Changes
Written Assignment 2 – Week 2
Ashley Calhoun
Health Policy, Politics, and Reform, HCM 590
Professor Dr. Claudette Andrea
May 6, 2018 Introduction
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by Obama in 2010 would forever bring change to healthcare in the U.S. We will discuss three of what I believe to be some of the most impactful changes that occurred because of the ACA: Individual mandate, extension of dependent coverage and expanded Medicaid coverage. Specifically we will look at what these provisions did and what kind of effects they caused compared to before the ACA.
Individual Mandate
The individual mandate requires all U.S. citizens to obtain health insurance or to pay a fine for not purchasing coverage. This would not be a tax, but rather a penalty per each month of non-compliance compiled into one fine when you file your tax return. Although the ACA was passed in 2010, the government gave individuals until 2014 to establish where they were going to obtain health insurance from. There is not much regulation as to how …show more content…
Before the ACA many American’s did not have health insurance because the cost for health insurance even through an employer continued to sky rocket and was just too expensive. The individual mandate not only made it so that more individuals would end up acquiring health insurance, but helped to reduce the extreme cost of health insurance. It also made it more easily attainable to have reasonably priced health insurance for those who were self-employed which was a huge deal. Many American’s who have their own business took the loss of not having health insurance prior to the ACA because private health insurance cost was outrageous, but with the ACA they were able to get health insurance at a better
Three Modifications to Health Policy and the Impact of these Changes
Written Assignment 2 – Week 2
Ashley Calhoun
Health Policy, Politics, and Reform, HCM 590
Professor Dr. Claudette Andrea
May 6, 2018 Introduction
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by Obama in 2010 would forever bring change to healthcare in the U.S. We will discuss three of what I believe to be some of the most impactful changes that occurred because of the ACA: Individual mandate, extension of dependent coverage and expanded Medicaid coverage. Specifically we will look at what these provisions did and what kind of effects they caused compared to before the ACA.
Individual Mandate
The individual mandate requires all U.S. citizens to obtain health insurance or to pay a fine for not purchasing coverage. This would not be a tax, but rather a penalty per each month of non-compliance compiled into one fine when you file your tax return. Although the ACA was passed in 2010, the government gave individuals until 2014 to establish where they were going to obtain health insurance from. There is not much regulation as to how …show more content…
Before the ACA many American’s did not have health insurance because the cost for health insurance even through an employer continued to sky rocket and was just too expensive. The individual mandate not only made it so that more individuals would end up acquiring health insurance, but helped to reduce the extreme cost of health insurance. It also made it more easily attainable to have reasonably priced health insurance for those who were self-employed which was a huge deal. Many American’s who have their own business took the loss of not having health insurance prior to the ACA because private health insurance cost was outrageous, but with the ACA they were able to get health insurance at a better