The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed by former President Barrack Obama on March 3rd, 2010.
The timeline of the events that culminated in the ACA commenced in 2009. In September 2010, the earliest provision of the Affordable Care Act was put in effect, while on June 8th, 2012, the Supreme Court endorsed the law and enforced ruled the single debated obligation as a tax. October 1st, 2013, marked the launch of an online exhibition for purchasing health insurance coverage. From 2014 through 2017, the ACA attracted several rulings and provisions. For instance, the act considerably transformed the healthcare structure in the United States, decreasing the number of persons and families rewarded with uncompensated healthcare. The ACA supports individuals who cannot afford an insurance plan and obliges each American to obtain health insurance.
One of the primary objectives of the ACA was to magnify health insurance coverage, reduce healthcare costs, and eventually improve access to healthcare. Among its many improvements, the ACA extended medical insurance coverage to adults with incomes lower than 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL) within the participating states (Courtemanche et al., 2018). While the act provided vital benefits for home healthcare, its amendments also the quality of care may have been endangered. Some of the mandated benefits had been proposed to inspire care for the elderly. Accordingly, home healthcare practitioners were cut off by $60 million in 2015 as part of the long-term plan to reduce healthcare costs under the ACA (Courtemanche et al., 2018). Also, few healthcare professionals would be available to care for patients. These reductions may have resulted in low-quality care for the beneficiaries.
The ACA embodies the effort to transform the financial association between America’s healthcare system and its citizens. Increasing comprehensive insurance and launching formal marketplaces have not only reduced the number of individuals who are not insured but have extensively enriched the quality and access of care to the insured (Sherry et al., 2017). The Affordable Healthcare Act lays down centralized principles for health insurers. Qualified health benefit devices are required to meet the federal standards defined under the act. Additionally, qualified health subsidy plans are obligated to create performance evidence compatible with the state measurement standard accessible to beneficiaries. This policy encourages the provision of quality care to patients and recipients (Sherry et al., 2017). The ACA institutes the Organization for Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research to endorse the kind of study necessary to recognize the most suitable and resourceful healthcare delivery method for different patient groups.
All health guarantors have an appeal procedure that enables the insured to request compensation for a claim denied. In cases of an insurance company refusing or denying payment to a healthcare claim, one has a right to petition the resolution in two ways. First, one may request the insurance company to carry out a full review of its decision. This procedure is carried out through a written letter stating the appeal and communicating the appropriate information to have the claim reviewed. It is essential to evaluate one’s coverage and establish the purpose as to why a claim was deprived. Following the review, one can take the plea to a liberated third party for appraisal. As a result, the insurance company no longer has the final say over the claim.
References
Courtemanche, C., Marton, J., Ukert, B., Yelowitz, A., & Zapata, D. (2018). Effects of the Affordable Care Act on health care access and self-assessed health after 3 years. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 55.
Sherry, G., Ma, S., & Borja, A. (2017). Effect of the Affordable Care Act on health care access. Issue Brief-Commonwealth Fund. Web.