Create a timeline in a Word document with significant dates that influenced and changed the health care delivery systems.
Timeline should begin in 1990, moving forward.
Timeline should end with the most current and significant information that you can find. You are required to add a minimum of 10 significant dates to this timeline in order to receive a passing grade.
Provide a detailed description for each significant date and event added to the timeline.
Use appropriate and scholarly sources in order to complete this assignment successfully, such as peer-reviewed literature and web sources that have .edu, .gov, and .org domain addresses. Wikipedia, and most .com sources are not considered to be of sufficient scholarly rigor.
Sample Answer
1996: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
The passage of HIPAA was a watershed moment. While one of its initial goals was to make health insurance more portable for workers changing jobs, its most lasting impact was its Administrative Simplification provisions. This section mandated national standards for electronic health care transactions and, most importantly, established the first federal protections for the privacy and security of patient health information. HIPAA fundamentally changed how patient data is handled and shared, forcing health care providers to invest heavily in security measures and digital record-keeping systems.
2003: Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA)
The MMA created Medicare Part D, a new prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. This was a major expansion of the Medicare program and a significant change to how seniors access medications. It marked a shift in federal policy by having private companies deliver a government benefit, leading to a complex system of drug plans and subsidies that dramatically affected the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.
2009: Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the HITECH Act was designed to incentivize the widespread adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). It provided billions of dollars in subsidies to health care providers that demonstrated "meaningful use" of certified EHR technology. HITECH accelerated the digitization of patient records, shifting the health care delivery system from a paper-based to an electronic one. It also strengthened HIPAA's privacy and security rules, increasing penalties for breaches.
2010: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The ACA is arguably the most transformative health care legislation since Medicare and Medicaid. Its goals were to increase insurance coverage and access to care, and to reform how care is delivered and paid for. Key provisions included the individual mandate, subsidies for low-income individuals to purchase insurance through exchanges, and the expansion of Medicaid. The ACA also introduced new models of care, such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), pushing the industry toward a value-based system.
2012: The Rise of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
While the ACA introduced the concept, ACOs began to take root in the years that followed. An ACO is a group of health care providers who work together to provide coordinated care to a specific patient population. They are incentivized to reduce costs and improve quality. The goal of an ACO is to prevent illness and unnecessary hospitalization. This model is a direct challenge to the traditional fee-for-service system, and it has spurred new collaborations between hospitals, primary care physicians, and specialists.