Numerous factors are related to disparities in treatments, results, and mortality. According to a study by Nong et al. (2020), over one in five persons in the US report having encountered harassment at least once when seeking medical attention. According to the findings of a previous survey, about one-quarter of American adults had encountered discrimination when trying to get medical care (Findling et al., 2019). The findings of Nong et al. (2020) align with earlier studies looking at discriminatory experiences in various contexts and the medical field.
Who Is Affected by the Problem
Most of those affected by this problem are individuals living with HIV, the aged, immigrants, women, and Muslims. The prevalence of HIV-related stigma and discrimination within care settings has been found in a study among individuals with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In the US, prejudice against the elderly has reportedly occurred due to ethnicity. Compared to their counterparts in 10 other high-income nations, older Americans are more likely to report that there is ethnic and racial discrimination in the medical system. One out of four Black and Latinx/Hispanic individuals in the United States who are 60 years of age or older said they had experienced unfair treatment (Nong et al., 2020). They thought medical personnel had not taken their health issues seriously because of their race or ethnicity.
The experiences of those who are marginalized in society in the US owing to immigration, gender, and faith were examined using information gathered from different surveys. According to the report, disadvantaged social groups are more likely to have encountered discrimination in hospital settings, including women, immigrants, people of African descent, and Muslims (Bleich et al., 2021). Muslims face more discrimination in the health system than other religious groups. According to the results of multivariable logistic regressions, younger females had lesser yearly domestic income and testified having poor or impartial health (Bleich et al., 2021).
The discrimination was exhibited when the above-mentioned marginalized persons or groups were denied access to medical care that is typically available to others. This can be primarily due to the prejudice that these disadvantaged groups are poor and cannot afford the services.
People Covered by the Policy
The medical care plan will cover those with health issues that began before age twenty-six years. Before this policy, children could continue to use their parent’s health plans until they turn 26. Currently, co-pays are waived for many preventive services, including mammograms, and children and adults with pre-existing diseases will not be denied coverage. Additionally, it will provide coverage for those who lack accessible employer insurance or another type of basic essential coverage such as Medicare or Medicaid (Yearby et al., 2022). Several clauses that produce installments and cost-sharing incentives will be used to achieve this.
Both those who presently do not have healthcare coverage and those who buy insurance on the private market will be covered under the plan. Now, individuals who previously could not afford health insurance or whose rates were excessive due to initial conditions will be able to buy affordable health insurance via the exchanges. They can choose from various plans at considerably lower costs, and many will likely be entitled to subsidies that will further lessen the charges. Exchange premiums are down 16% from what the Congressional Budget Office predicted (Yearby et al., 2022). More than 70% of those who buy insurance plans via the exchanges are also estimated to be entitled to tax credits, which will further lower their rates in addition to the lower premiums (Yearby et al., 2022). Thus, the above policy would be beneficial to all groups of people.
How the Policy Will Be Implemented
The additional insurance standards outlined in the Act aim to establish a federal minimum. In contrast to the ability of nearly all states to enforce federal rules, insurance agencies will have to hold execution powers, either through express law or as a consequence of their authority. Insurers who vend products in corporate medical insurance sectors must adhere to federal regulations established by the Affordable Care Act (Yearby et al., 2022). These guidelines aim to prohibit discrimination against women, elderly persons, children, and those not in optimal condition.
Therefore, the Act will ban lifetime and most annual dollar cover restrictions, the application of pre-existing situation exemptions, and lengthy waiting periods. It will also command the practice of modified community rating, which confines price disparities grounded on age, family size, and tobacco abuse to a certain extent. The bill will mandate insurers to provide regular medical services as a component of clinical studies involving cancer and life-threatening ailments. Moreover, the bill will ensure the right to external and internal unbiased appeal processes when coverage is declined.
Administrative Auspices Under Which the Policy Will Be Lodged
State Medicaid programs and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will lodge the policy. These divisions will evaluate novel approaches to funding and providing services, including care settings, clinically incorporated accountable care organizations, episode-based payments, and bundled payments. Additionally, it will be lodged by the Independent Payment Advisory Board. This is a 15-member body which will make legislative proposals with recommendations to lower the growth rate in Medicare expenditure per person if spending exceeds a predetermined growth rate (Darney et al., 2020). CMS will also lodge the policy since the Chief Actuary of CMS must forecast if Medicare per capita consumption surpasses the aggregate of CPI-U and CPI-M in five years.
References
Bleich, S. N., Zephyrin, L., & Blendon, R. J. (2021). Addressing racial discrimination in US health care Today. JAMA Health Forum, 2(3), 1-3. Web.
Darney, B. G., Jacob, R. L., Hoopes, M., Rodriguez, M. I., Hatch, B., Marino, M., Templeton, A., Oakley, J., & Cottrell, E. K. (2020). Evaluation of Medicaid expansion under the affordable care act and contraceptive care in US community health centers. JAMA Network Open, 3(6), 1–15. Web.
Findling, M. G., Casey, L. S., Fryberg, S. A., Hafner, S., Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M., Sayde, J. M., & Miller, C. (2019). Discrimination in the United States: Experiences of Native Americans. Health Services Research, 54(S2), 1431–1441. Web.
Nong, P., Raj, M., Creary, M., Kardia, S. L., & Platt, J. E. (2020). Patient-reported experiences of discrimination in the US health care system. JAMA Network Open, 3(12), 1-11. Web.
Yearby, R., Clark, B., & Figueroa, J. F. (2022). Structural racism in historical and modern US health care policy. Health Affairs, 41(2), 187–194. Web.