Health Care Tipping Points
Many tipping points exist throughout the history of the health care system of the United States, more so than can be discussed here. Addressed, will be a few key tipping points over the last hundred years that, without them, the system would stand as it does today. The first tipping point is the establishment of the American Medical Association in 1847 and their subsequent creation of the Committee on National Legislation at the turn of the century. As a first act, the AMA instituted the first code of medical ethics and established the first set of nationwide standards for medical education and the M.D. degree. The organization set the goal to better public health and lobby for better legislation. Over the years, this group has remained
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This act was intended to provide federal grants and loans for construction and update of hospitals and other other health care facilities and improve the physical structure of the system. A caveat to participation is that the recipient facilities must provide a “reasonable volume” of free health care services. This has resulted in the providing of over $6 billion in free services to eligible patients. Today there remains one hundred forty-seven (147) facilities obligated by the Hill-Burton act to provide free health care, with two (2) of these being in Kentucky and two (2) in the state of Tennessee. (Hill-Burton, n.d.) Tipping point three is the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid into law. In 1965, President Johnson signed the bill provided comprehensive coverage for the aging (Medicare) and the poor or disabled (Medicaid) populations. This was the first national, government funded and provided coverage of any type. This act generated the first resemblance of an organized system in the U.S.
The last tipping point to cover here is the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The intent of the act is to ensure that quality health care is accessible and affordable to all citizens. Various segments of the act were created to address all sectors of the population, including Medicaid expansion for the poorest and the Health Care Exchange for the low and middle class working. This act has been a burden to some employers due to the imposition of monetary penalties if equal and affordable healthcare is not available through
This act was intended to provide federal grants and loans for construction and update of hospitals and other other health care facilities and improve the physical structure of the system. A caveat to participation is that the recipient facilities must provide a “reasonable volume” of free health care services. This has resulted in the providing of over $6 billion in free services to eligible patients. Today there remains one hundred forty-seven (147) facilities obligated by the Hill-Burton act to provide free health care, with two (2) of these being in Kentucky and two (2) in the state of Tennessee. (Hill-Burton, n.d.) Tipping point three is the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid into law. In 1965, President Johnson signed the bill provided comprehensive coverage for the aging (Medicare) and the poor or disabled (Medicaid) populations. This was the first national, government funded and provided coverage of any type. This act generated the first resemblance of an organized system in the U.S.
The last tipping point to cover here is the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The intent of the act is to ensure that quality health care is accessible and affordable to all citizens. Various segments of the act were created to address all sectors of the population, including Medicaid expansion for the poorest and the Health Care Exchange for the low and middle class working. This act has been a burden to some employers due to the imposition of monetary penalties if equal and affordable healthcare is not available through