Introduction
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) had a tremendous effect on the U.S. healthcare system. There are several key changes to the principles on which one’s eligibility for Medicaid coverage is established. The focus shifted toward covering vulnerable portions of the U.S. population, allowing low-income adults without children to receive this type of insurance (Lee & Porell, 2018).
Discussion
Medicaid expansion enabled institutions to assess and increase coverage of health insurance and accessibility to vital services. However, there are deficiencies that remain among ethnic and racial minorities’ access to healthcare. Uninsured rates went down, yet Black and Hispanic adults did not benefit from this policy as much as low-income White individuals (Ye & Rodriguez, 2021). In order to fix this issue, it might be feasible to modify the Act to specifically target subpopulations in this country, as well as use targeted advertisements to spread the knowledge of its benefits.
The second change that occurred due to the passing of the ACA is the regulation of lifetime caps and employer payments toward health insurance. This change decreased the financial burden of suffering heart failure, which, in turn, allowed more people to access healthcare services during such incidents (Wolfe & Joynt Maddox, 2019). This regulation highlights how the U.S. insurance system can be leveraged for the benefit of society. However, the rate of heart failure is projected to grow as the percentage of older adults in the U.S. population continues to increase (Wolfe & Joynt Maddox, 2019). In order to alleviate the issue further, it will be essential to continue working on the adjustments of this system through further funding of one’s health insurance later in life. For example, readmission penalties in such situations can be further decreased if a person abides by disease management plans.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the changes to the U.S. healthcare system introduced by the ACA positively affected several weak points that improved the well-being of a significant portion of the population.
References
Lee, H., & Porell, F. W. (2018). The effect of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion on disparities in access to care and health status. Medical Care Research and Review, 77(5), 461–473. Web.
Wolfe, J. D., & Joynt Maddox, K. E. (2019). Heart failure and the Affordable Care Act. JACC: Heart Failure, 7(9), 737–745. Web.
Ye, W., & Rodriguez, J. M. (2021). Highly vulnerable communities and the Affordable Care Act: Health insurance coverage effects, 2010–2018. Social Science & Medicine, 270, 113670. Web.