The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Annette Shifflett
POL 210
J. Pedigo
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was signed by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010, put into place healthcare and insurance reforms intended to assist all Americans in their endeavor to obtain affordable healthcare and insurance. Those Americans, who had been previously unable to obtain even basic healthcare because they made too much money for Medicaid but could not afford to pay insurance premiums, now had the opportunity to obtain the healthcare they needed. But, affordable healthcare for everyone is not necessarily a good description of a plan that puts the burden of payment onto those who are barely able to afford their own healthcare premiums already. The law, which in theory was intended to give doctors and patients more, and insurance companies less profit, has fallen terribly short.
I. New Laws and Intentions
A. Put doctor-patient relationships ahead of insurance profits
B. Decrease burden of uncompensated care on doctors and hospitals
C. Less insurance paperwork
D. Better access to healthcare and preventative services
II. Healthcare Reform Timeline
A. 2010
1. New consumer protections
a. Patient Bill of Rights
b. Free Medicare preventative services
c. Insurance companies prohibited from rescinding coverage
d. Putting information for consumers online
e. Prohibiting denial of coverage of children based on pre-existing conditions
f. Eliminating lifetime limits on insurance coverage
g. Regulating annual limits on insurance coverage
h. Appealing insurance company decisions
i. Establishing consumer assistance programs in the states
2. Improving quality and lowering costs
a. Providing health insurance tax credits for small business
b. Offering relief for four million seniors who hit the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole”
c. Providing free preventative care
d. Preventing disease and illness
e. Cracking down on healthcare
POL 210
J. Pedigo
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was signed by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010, put into place healthcare and insurance reforms intended to assist all Americans in their endeavor to obtain affordable healthcare and insurance. Those Americans, who had been previously unable to obtain even basic healthcare because they made too much money for Medicaid but could not afford to pay insurance premiums, now had the opportunity to obtain the healthcare they needed. But, affordable healthcare for everyone is not necessarily a good description of a plan that puts the burden of payment onto those who are barely able to afford their own healthcare premiums already. The law, which in theory was intended to give doctors and patients more, and insurance companies less profit, has fallen terribly short.
I. New Laws and Intentions
A. Put doctor-patient relationships ahead of insurance profits
B. Decrease burden of uncompensated care on doctors and hospitals
C. Less insurance paperwork
D. Better access to healthcare and preventative services
II. Healthcare Reform Timeline
A. 2010
1. New consumer protections
a. Patient Bill of Rights
b. Free Medicare preventative services
c. Insurance companies prohibited from rescinding coverage
d. Putting information for consumers online
e. Prohibiting denial of coverage of children based on pre-existing conditions
f. Eliminating lifetime limits on insurance coverage
g. Regulating annual limits on insurance coverage
h. Appealing insurance company decisions
i. Establishing consumer assistance programs in the states
2. Improving quality and lowering costs
a. Providing health insurance tax credits for small business
b. Offering relief for four million seniors who hit the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole”
c. Providing free preventative care
d. Preventing disease and illness
e. Cracking down on healthcare