The implementation of the ACA

The U.S. spends more money per capita on healthcare when compared to other developed countries. Both state- and federal-level alternatives highlight access to care and cost of care. The ACA has impacted all health policy options. Review alternate scholarly sources, scholarly health policy journals) and discuss the following questions

Are the key issues of the law highlighted? Provide a rationale.
What are the key changes to the implementation of the ACA over the years?
What are some of the debates concerning the ACA? Provide scholarly research.

Full Answer Section Quality of care: The ACA has implemented a number of measures to improve the quality of care, such as providing funding for quality improvement initiatives and requiring hospitals to report on their quality of care data. However, there is still room for improvement in the quality of care in the United States. What are the key changes to the implementation of the ACA over the years? There have been a number of key changes to the implementation of the ACA over the years. These changes include: The Supreme Court's decision in NFIB v. Sebelius: In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate, a key provision of the ACA that requires most Americans to have health insurance. However, the Court also ruled that the federal government could not withhold Medicaid funding from states that did not expand Medicaid eligibility. The passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA): In 2017, the Republican-controlled Congress passed the AHCA, which would have repealed and replaced the ACA. However, the AHCA was not enacted into law. The Trump administration's efforts to undermine the ACA: The Trump administration has taken a number of steps to undermine the ACA, such as shortening the open enrollment period for health insurance marketplaces and weakening the individual mandate. What are some of the debates concerning the ACA? Provide scholarly research. There are a number of debates concerning the ACA. These debates include: The role of government in healthcare: Some people believe that the government should have a limited role in healthcare, while others believe that the government should play a more active role in ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare. The cost of the ACA: The ACA has been expensive to implement, and some people argue that it is not worth the cost. Others argue that the ACA has saved money in the long run by reducing the growth of healthcare costs. The impact of the ACA on individual choice: The ACA has been criticized for giving individuals too little choice in their health insurance plans. Others argue that the ACA has actually increased choice by making it easier for individuals to compare and purchase health insurance plans. These are just a few of the many debates concerning the ACA. The law is likely to continue to be debated for many years to come. Scholarly Research Kaiser Family Foundation: The Affordable Care Act: Law at a Glance The Commonwealth Fund: The Affordable Care Act: A Decade of Progress Peterson Institute for International Economics: The Affordable Care Act: A Decade Later Brookings Institution: The Affordable Care Act at 10: An Assessment of the Law's Impact The New England Journal of Medicine: Assessing the Affordable Care Act
Sample Answer

Are the key issues of the law highlighted? Provide a rationale.

Yes, the key issues of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are highlighted in the scholarly literature. These key issues include:

  • Access to care: The ACA has expanded health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, both through the creation of health insurance marketplaces and through the expansion of Medicaid eligibility. As a result of the ACA, the uninsured rate in the United States has declined significantly.

  • Cost of care: The ACA has implemented a number of measures to slow the growth of healthcare costs, such as requiring insurers to cover preventive care and penalizing hospitals for high readmission rates. However, healthcare costs continue to rise faster than inflation, and the ACA has not been able to fully address this issue.