A series of fact sheets explaining aspects of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Live Events Tune in to White House events and statements as they happen. Health Care Law. Relief. For You. They are why we got this done. They are why I signed this bill into law.'. FOCUSon Health Reform FOCUSon Health Reform MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH CARE REFORM: SIX YEARS LATER 5 Health Care Access and Affordability Ensuring access to health care services is critically important for comprehensive health.
Health care reform in the United States. Health care reform in the United States has a long history. Reforms have often been proposed but have rarely been accomplished. In 2. 01. 0, landmark reform was passed through two federal statutes enacted in 2.
Health Reform « » The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Twitter Facebook Email. topics. topics. Disparities Policy; Global Health Policy. Health Care and the 2016 Debates; GOP Views of Medicaid Expansion Differ From.
- I 111TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3962 To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 29, 2009 Mr.
- The Health and Social Care Act 2012. Street Chambers, on behalf of the 38 Degrees campaign, who concluded that 'Effectively, the duty to provide a national health service would be lost if the Bill becomes law.
- Health and Social Care Act 2012 CHAPTER 7 Explanatory Notes have been produced to assist in the understanding of this Act and are available separately £44.75.
- A Quick Rundown of Major Provisions in the Health Care Bill Being Voted on in the House Tonight.
- . 2012 the Supreme Court rendered a final decision to uphold the health care law. Read the Supreme Court’s Decision on the Affordable Care Act (PDF. Payment adjustments for home health care. Sec. 3132. Hospice reform.
- This article is part of a series on: Healthcare reform in the United States of America; History; Debate.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed March 2. Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2. H. R. 4. 87. 2), which amended the PPACA and became law on March 3. Future reforms and ideas continue to be proposed, with notable arguments including a single- payer system and a reduction in fee- for- service medical care.[5] The PPACA includes a new agency, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which is intended to research reform ideas through pilot projects. History of national reform efforts[edit]Here is a summary of reform achievements at the national level in the United States.
For failed efforts, state- based efforts, native tribes services and more details generally, see the main article History of health care reform in the United States. President Lyndon Johnson enacted legislation that introduced Medicare, covering both hospital and general medical insurance for senior citizens paid for by a Federal employment tax over the working life of the retiree, and Medicaid permitted the Federal government to partially fund a program for the poor, with the program managed and co- financed by the individual states.[6][7]1. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1.
COBRA) amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1. ERISA) to give some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment.[8]1. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) not only protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs, it also made health insurance companies cover pre- existing conditions.
If such condition had been diagnosed before purchasing insurance, insurance companies are required to cover it after patient has one year of continuous coverage. If such condition was already covered on their current policy, new insurance policies due to changing jobs, etc.. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, was established by the federal government in 1.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was enacted, providing for the phased introduction over four years of a comprehensive system of mandated health insurance with reforms designed to eliminate "some of the worst practices of the insurance companies"—pre- existing condition screening and premium loadings, policy cancellations on technicalities when illness seems imminent, annual and lifetime coverage caps. It also sets a minimum ratio of direct health care spending to premium income, and creates price competition bolstered by the creation of three standard insurance coverage levels to enable like- for- like comparisons by consumers, and a web- based health insurance exchange where consumers can compare prices and purchase plans. The system preserves private insurance and private health care providers and provides more subsidies to enable the poor to buy insurance. Motivation[edit]. Medicare and Medicaid Spending as % GDP (data from the CBO)International comparisons of healthcare have found that the United States spends more per- capita than other similarly developed nations but falls below similar countries in various health metrics, suggesting inefficiency and waste. In addition, the United States has significant underinsurance and significant impending unfunded liabilities from its aging demographic and its social insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid (Medicaid provides free long- term care to the elderly poor).
The fiscal and human impact of these issues have motivated reform proposals. Health spending per capita, in US$ PPP- adjusted, compared amongst various first world nations. According to 2. 00.
World Bank statistics, the U. S. had the highest healthcare costs relative to the size of the economy (GDP) in the world, even though estimated 5. September 2. 01. 1 estimated population of 3. In March 2. 01. 0, billionaire Warren Buffett commented that the high costs paid by U.
S. companies for their employees' health care put them at a competitive disadvantage.[1. Life expectancy compared to healthcare spending from 1. US and the next 1. GDP.[1. 3]Further, an estimated 7. Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, which combined with significant annual increases in healthcare costs per person will place enormous budgetary strain on U. S. state and federal governments, particularly through Medicare and Medicaid spending (Medicaid provides long- term care for the elderly poor).[1.
Maintaining the long- term fiscal health of the U. S. federal government is significantly dependent on healthcare costs being controlled.[1. Insurance cost and availability[edit]In addition, the number of employers who offer health insurance has declined and costs for employer- paid health insurance are rising: from 2. Kaiser Family Foundation.[1. Even for those who are employed, the private insurance in the US varies greatly in its coverage; one study by the Commonwealth Fund published in Health Affairs estimated that 1.
U. S. adults were underinsured in 2. The underinsured were significantly more likely than those with adequate insurance to forgo health care, report financial stress because of medical bills, and experience coverage gaps for such items as prescription drugs. The study found that underinsurance disproportionately affects those with lower incomes — 7. However, a study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2. PPO) plan in 2. 00.
Medicare or the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Standard Option.[1. One indicator of the consequences of Americans' inconsistent health care coverage is a study in Health Affairs that concluded that half of personal bankruptcys involved medical bills,[1. There are health losses from insufficient health insurance. A 2. 00. 9 Harvard study published in the American Journal of Public Health found more than 4. United States due to Americans lacking health insurance.[2. More broadly, estimates of the total number of people in the United States, whether insured or uninsured, who die because of lack of medical care were estimated in a 1. A study of the effects of the Massachusetts universal health care law (which took effect in 2.
Other studies, just as those examining the randomized distribution of Medicaid insurance to low- income people in Oregon in 2. Waste and fraud[edit]In December 2. Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. Donald Berwick, asserted that 2. He listed five causes for the waste: (1) overtreatment of patients, (2) the failure to coordinate care, (3) the administrative complexity of the health care system, (4) burdensome rules and (5) fraud.[2. An estimated 3%–1. U. S. are fraudulent.
In 2. 01. 1, Medicare and Medicaid made $6. Government efforts to reduce fraud include $4. Department of Justice and the FBI in 2. Affordable Care Act, and Senior Medicare Patrols—volunteers trained to identify and report fraud.[2.
In 2. 00. 7, the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services formed the Medicare Fraud Strike Force to combat fraud through data analysis and increased community policing. As of May 2. 01. 3, the Strike Force has charged more than 1,5. Medicare fraud often takes the form of kickbacks and money- laundering. Fraud schemes often take the form of billing for medically unnecessary services or services not rendered.[2. Quality of care[edit]There is significant debate regarding the quality of the U.
S. healthcare system relative to those of other countries. Physicians for a National Health Program, a political advocacy group, has claimed that a free market solution to health care provides a lower quality of care, with higher mortality rates, than publicly funded systems.[2. The quality of health maintenance organizations and managed care have also been criticized by this same group.[2. According to a 2. World Health Organization, publicly funded systems of industrial nations spend less on health care, both as a percentage of their GDP and per capita, and enjoy superior population- based health care outcomes.[3.
However, conservative commentator David Gratzer and the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, have both criticized the WHO's comparison method for being biased; the WHO study marked down countries for having private or fee- paying health treatment and rated countries by comparison to their expected health care performance, rather than objectively comparing quality of care.[3. Some medical researchers say that patient satisfaction surveys are a poor way to evaluate medical care. Researchers at the RAND Corporation and the Department of Veterans Affairs asked 2. Annals of Internal Medicine. There was no correlation.
Patient ratings of health care are easy to obtain and report, but do not accurately measure the technical quality of medical care," said John T. Chang, UCLA, lead author.[3. Public opinion[edit]Public opinion polls have shown a majority of the public supports various levels of government involvement in health care in the United States,[3. Polls from Harvard University in 1.
Los Angeles Times in 1. Wall Street Journal in 1. Canada. More recently, however, polling support has declined for that sort of health care system,[3. Yahoo/AP poll showing a majority of respondents considered themselves supporters of "single- payer health care,"[4. Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg,[4. Time Magazine showed support for "a national single- payer plan similar to Medicare for all."[4.
Polls by Rasmussen Reports in 2. Many other polls show support for various levels of government involvement in health care, including polls from New York Times/CBS News[4. Washington Post/ABC News,[4. The Kaiser Family Foundation[4. Medicare, and a Quinnipiac poll in three states in 2.