...Step 1: The social issue I have chosen is the issue with Obamacare, which is also known as the Affordable Care Act. President Barack Obama started this in mind to help Americans without health insurance get health care. Also it is supposed to help people with health insurance pay less for health insurance if their premiums are too high. Step 2: The groups or people that are affected by Affordable Care Act are: Doctors, the American people with and without health insurance, and the United States Government. Step 3: The first group that are affected are doctors. Before Obamacare, doctors get paid for each service provided for a patient. After Obamacare, there are more payments for doctors bundled together after treatment is provided, which pays doctors less. This puts them in a situation where...
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...The Affordable Care Act - Applying Historical Perspectives to a Current Social Issue The University of Washington, School of Social Work The Affordable Care Act - Applying Historical Perspectives to a Current Social Issue Universal health care for Americans has long been a highly contested hot button issue in the United States. It is no secret that Americans pay much more for medical services than other comparable countries, however these higher price tags do not necessarily translate to better care (Keller, 2013). For example, the average price of the allergy nose spray Nasonex is $108 in the United States, compared to $21 in Spain. In many developed countries, a basic colonoscopy costs well under $1,000, but in the United States a bill for this procedure would likely be closer to the $7,000 to $9,000 range (Rosenthal, 2013). In the midst of the debate, and while Republicans and Democrats alike may claim that they want the best health care available for all American people, in the media more often than not this argument comes down to dollars and cents. However, it is of course too simplistic to say that only the power of money and no other forces are at play here. In this paper I will present the case of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more commonly referred to as Obamacare, as it relates to a number of different political and economic ideologies presented in readings and in lecture. The goal of the ACA is to increase the quality and affordability of medical care and health...
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...quality, affordable health care under the updated health insurance reform legislation passed by the House. "The Affordable Health Care for America Act or H.R. 3962, blends and updates the three versions of previous bills passed by the House committees. "(Kruger, M. 2010) This bill is expected to ease the out-of-control costs of health insurance, introduce competition into the health care marketplace that will help maintain coverage affordability, protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and guarantee all Americans access to quality, consistent , affordable health care. The Association of American Medical Colleges stated in a Mar. 21, 2010 article; "we have taken the first step towards truly transforming health care in this country. This historic vote by the House of Representatives sets into motion long-overdue efforts to cover 32 million uninsured Americans and to assure their access to high-quality care. The nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals have expressed their full support for this bill to President Obama, and now stand ready to work with the administration and Congress to carry out these significant changes to our health care delivery system." (AAMC, 2010) The health care reform bill creates a shared responsibility for health care among individuals, employers and the government to ensure that all Americans have affordable essential health benefits. Two of the key components, and possibly the most debated or criticized of the Affordable Health Care for...
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...Stakeholder Analysis Brittany Collins Dr. Richardson Public Policy Analysis and Plan 11.7.13 Introduction This paper provides a comprehensive stakeholder analysis of the affordable medical care policy change. The policy change has triggered multiple debates across the United States of America earning the name ObamaCare due to the president’s commitment to see the policy implemented. An argumentation analysis is provided identifying the different contending positions as well as assumptions. Moreover, an argument map of the issue is also developed. It is pertinent to note that the policy issue affects stakeholders across different industries of the economy in a multidimensional approach. Medical care policy The Obama care health care policy has had wide opinions among various stakeholders in the US. While there are those who support the policy, there are also those who feel that the policy will be difficult to implement and will leave many people without the ability to access basic medical care. However, there is need to analyses the medical care policy and the different opinions that are given to analyses the suitability of the policy (Doolittle, 2013). The policy was laid down as an alternative to provision of cheaper healthcare to the people. Critics of the policy have argued that the citizens are the ultimate stakeholders in this policy; however, there are other key stakeholders involved. These stakeholders include key players in the insurance sector; pharmaceutical...
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...Affordable Care Act For the first time in U.S. history, every American will have access to quality, affordable health care under the updated health insurance reform legislation passed by the House. "The Affordable Health Care for America Act or H.R. 3962, blends and updates the three versions of previous bills passed by the House committees. "(Kruger, M. 2010) This bill is expected to ease the out-of-control costs of health insurance, introduce competition into the health care marketplace that will help maintain coverage affordability, protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and guarantee all Americans access to quality, consistent , affordable health care. The Association of American Medical Colleges stated in a Mar. 21, 2010 article; "we have taken the first step towards truly transforming health care in this country. This historic vote by the House of Representatives sets into motion long-overdue efforts to cover 32 million uninsured Americans and to assure their access to high-quality care. The nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals have expressed their full support for this bill to President Obama, and now stand ready to work with the administration and Congress to carry out these significant changes to our health care delivery system." (AAMC, 2010) The health care reform bill creates a shared responsibility for health care among individuals, employers and the government to ensure that all Americans have affordable essential health benefits. Two of...
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...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of Grievances.” Numerous cases discuss whether corporations have First Amendment rights, however only few cases discuss whether the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment applies to corporations. In Central Hudson v. PSC (1980) and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects corporations’ commercial speech and political speech, respectively. In Santa Clara Company v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886) the court ruled that the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies to corporations. The issue of whether the Affordable Care Act violates individuals’ rights to Free Exercise of Religion has also been a hotly debated topic. The Supreme Court Case Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah (1993) discussed whether the government can give ordinances that violate an individual’s right to Free Exercise. The Supreme Court Case Shervert v. Verner (1963) showed that a company cannot not provide an employee with compensation benefits if it interferes with the employee’s right to Free Exercise. Issue Should corporations receive the same First Amendment Rights as individuals? Rule Multiple issues pertain to this situation. The First Amendment of the United States’ Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting...
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...Health Care Reform By: Tamika Williams August 2, 2014 HCS/235 In the United States, health care reform is a major topic that many people are talking about and how the sources available will help Americans with health care. During the presidential election in 2008, health care reform was a great deal for them to promote the ideas to helping health care but no one actually can explain how it was going to become resolved. America was to the final point, where we as people, thought that the biggest controversy would become resolved and a new era of transparency would be developing. In these years that have come many of the changes that has been promised to America, has yet to occur and is still the same as before. The most recent health care reform is The Affordable Care Act which has expanded access to health care which was created and signed to make sure that all Americans in the United States have affordable health care available to them and to monitor the rising of the health care costs. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the most comprehensive reform of the United States medical system in at least 45 years. The ACA transforms the non-group insurance market in the United States and mandates that most residents have health insurance, significantly expands public insurance and subsidizes private insurance coverage, raises revenues from a variety of new taxes, and reduces and reorganizes spending under the nation’s largest health insurance plan, Medicare. Projecting the impacts...
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...religious and act on their religious belief? This was the main argument in the supreme court case of Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby. This case rocked the supreme court and our nation as many were very opinionated one way or the other. The complete dynamics of healthcare and religion in business was changed and defined by this case. When Obama passed the American Affordable Care Act businesses had to help pay for their employees’ healthcare, part of this healthcare included contraceptives. Hobby Lobby did not agree with four out of the twenty contraceptives offered. They...
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...Unaffordable Health Care Act Our current President, Barack Obama, is attempting to create a healthcare law that would require all Americans to purchase a healthcare plan. It is called the “Affordable Healthcare Act” or commonly known on the street as “Obama Care”. While it would be nice to have every US citizen own healthcare, there are many issues and problems that have arisen with the plan. Many US citizens are against the law for various reasons, while there are others who believe the law would be positive addition to the country. The Affordable Healthcare Act is only going to hurt this country even more. There have been many critics saying the act is unconstitutional, due to the government forcing the people to buy something. The healthcare plans being sold are very expensive so it would insure that the poor stay poor. The Healthcare act just will not work in this government or economy; the taxes will hurt the middle class. The Affordable Health Care Act has been given the reputation as being unconstitutional. It attacks the basis of a free society based on the US constitution. The government should not have the power to decide the purchases its people make. This remark is clarified in the 16th Amendment of the US Constitution: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.” It has been made clear through media, social networks...
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...federal Affordable Care Act. Government should strive to assist its citizens who seek help and cannot escape poverty however; there are of course grounds as to why all states do not full support each and every citizen. This paper is supporting the expansion of Medicaid, providing counter arguments against Medicaid expansion, and stating why it is this paper is in support of Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion could assist “About 406,000 Texans with mental illness and substance abuse disorders…” this doesn’t even include those who just don’t have the required income to qualify (Chang, Medicaid). I am for the expansion of Medicaid. Medicaid aids those in need, those who struggle to maintain themselves,...
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...list in 2012, the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and is the largest retailer in the world. It has 8,500 stores in 15 countries and is the largest and most profitable retailer in the United States. However, from a moral standpoint Walmart may not be as successful as many may think. It has violated many human rights in some of its third world countries, as depicted in the film “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.” In the movie, they take an extremely biased stance against Walmart accusing the company of being inhumane, and not recognizing the rights of workers. It also went further and said that they attempt to cover up these actions, by teaching the workers to lie. The movie however fails to recognize that Walmart is not the only company to engage in such actions. In fact, shoe companies, such as Nike, and clothing companies, such as Hollister, are known to make their products in sweatshops. Some of the allegations brought up against Walmart proved to be true. On of their major attacks were, “The income of a Walmart associate is below the poverty level in America.” They continued by providing customer testimonies that stated that they wanted to quit but they could not afford too. Walmart should not be ridiculed for the amount of money they pay their associates. To get a job at Walmart you must be 16. You do not need a high school diploma. It is an entry-level job. The associates should not expect to be paid a lot of money for a job that...
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...American National Government POL201 Teresa Knox April 28, 13 The Affordable Care Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in March 2010, supposed to provide better health security. But it will result in skyrocketing insurance costs and physicians leaving the field in droves, making it harder to afford and find medical care. Immediately after the passage of the health care bill, it has faced a great deal of opposition and became one of the most disputed topics around the nation it went under fire questioning the Constitutionality, the quality of care under the bill, and the retention of pre- existing health care converge. Implementing a new system of healthcare means rising government spending which will inevitably cause taxes to soar on the already struggling middle class as well as the upper class. This policy raises issues of “federalism” because some find the fact that mandated health care can be considered unconstitutional. Some view the fact of the government telling the citizens they have to have healthcare goes against the constitution. In this act the government would require us, as US citizens, to buy healthcare from private companies and keep it for the rest of our lives or we would be mandated to pay annual penalties. Some see this as unconstitutional because it is forcing Americans to “buy” insurance so their health needs can be covered. While Mr. Obama’s healthcare plan focuses on the future, it fails to help struggling...
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...Priya Ranade Assignment A: Framing Memo on the Individual Mandate in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 Introduction: For years, America has struggled to resolve the problem of uninsured patients in the United States healthcare system. Under President Obama’s administration, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in March of 2010. There has been considerable debate regarding many of the provisions in this law. Although this policy was passed nearly six years ago, it is still a subject of controversy. Many in the Republican Party are supporting efforts to repeal the law. One of the most controversial stipulations in this law is an individual mandate requiring employers with 50 or more employees to buy health insurance for their workers. Under this condition, employees that do not purchase insurance for their workers will have to pay a large fine for their failure to comply with the law. The payment of the fine depends on several factors including the total number of individuals in a household that are uninsured1. Opponents of the law believe that the Affordable Care Act infringes on freedom; Americans should be able to choose how they want to spend their hard-earned money, and should not be fined if they decide not to buy health insurance. Proponents of the individual mandate believe that the rising costs of healthcare is a problem for every American, and the individual mandate will guarantee insurance for all while decreasing the total amount of capital spent on healthcare5...
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...Analysis of Health Care Reform Ima Student Grand Canyon University: HCA 530 Month Day, Year Analysis of Health Care Reform Health care reform is a controversial topic that it is both political and emotional. The debate goes on about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its legality on both sides of the aisle. This paper will detail concerns about health care reform including cost, quality, and access. This paper will answer the question if the current health care system is a market failure that requires government involvement, will detail changes proposed from both political parties and will summarize elements needed for reform in health care. Health Care Cost, Quality, and Access Health care cost, quality, and access are central to health care reform. There is no surprise the expense of health care in the United States. In the year 2010 health care was 17.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and costs continue to rise (Hicks, 2014). In contrast, health care is 8.7% of the GDP in the United Kingdom (Hicks, 2014). There is much work to do in the United States to get and keep health care costs under control. Health care quality is increasingly important and the ACA has emphasized quality care. Health care organizations are incentivized to decrease infections in hospitals and provide better quality care. Payment from Medicare is being aligned with quality and increased patient satisfaction. If patients acquire hospital acquired infections during their hospital stay, it will...
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... Does Christina really think it is necessary for her to get cosmetic surgery and spend all that money? After all she does want to save enough money to start an art studio. 2. Is it right that Americans have to pay more than double on health care when the quality of health care in other countries is just as good as it is here? 3. Is it right that that hard working Americans do not have the freedom to go overseas to get cheaper medical procedures? While Christina is involved in a very non ethical line of work and is able to beat the system. 4. Is it right that struggling foreigners overseas cannot afford routine medical attention while Christina is able to come over there with money made from stripping and can get surgery a that is not needed? 5. Is it right that Christina should have to pay the extra 70 to 80% percent on a surgery when she has the job flexibility to go overseas and pay less for the same amount of care if not better? I believe that issue five is the most central issue at hand. I think that if Christina wants to be able to get cosmetic medical surgery she should be able to. I think that if Christina should have the right to travel overseas to save money if she thinks that it is safe to do so. Health care in the United States is very high right now and it does not...
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