The Impact of the Affordable Care Act

The Impact of Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides low-cost health insurance for all Americans. It protects Americans from abusive insurance companies' practices. The ACA provides uninsured and vulnerable communities the opportunity to obtain personal health care. The enactment of ACA shifted focus of healthcare from treating sick individuals to a model of preventive care. The shift of focus intends to encourage individuals to participate in annual physical and screening; increasing efficiency of early detection methodology. This comprehensive plan lowers healthcare cost, guarantee more choices of insurance options, and enhances the quality of care provided (Hahn, Sheingold, & Ott, 2014).

Mandates of Health Reform

The ACA documentation consists of healthcare policies dedicated to individuals and employer mandates, insurance market reforms, health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion. The health reform required individuals to purchase healthcare coverage or incur a penalty of $95.00 per year. Subsidization is available for individuals meeting income requirements according to state health marketplace exchange. The reform requires businesses with 50 employees or more to offer health insurance and assume 60% of the insurance cost. Organizations failing to comply with insurance regulations incur a fine of $2000.00 per year. Compliant companies receive 25% tax credit each year (Hahn et al., 2014).

The health reform guarantees health insurance for all individuals, including those with pre-existing medical conditions; without treatment limitations. The healthcare coverage includes preventive care interventions such as immunizations, screening programs and wellness visits. Adolescents may obtain insurance coverage utilizing their parents' ACA plan until the age of 26 years old. The ACA prohibits insurance companies to reduce or rescind coverage from existing clients because of multiple hospitalizations or development of a debilitating disease. Policies mandate insurance companies to cover comprehensive services known as Essential Health Benefits. Therefore, individuals covered under the ACA receive free wellness advice and treatment; alleviating some costly medical expenses (Hahn et al., 2014).

Impact on Medicare and Medicaid

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) created new models of payment that focus on the improvement of health for recipient’s receiving Medicaid, Medicare and Children's Health Insurance program. The implementation of healthcare reform shifted the healthcare paradigm from an illness model of care to wellness and preventive model. Assurance of success for the new healthcare reform requires all medical personnel to function as a team. Each member of the team is responsible