Introduction
The health care industry has experienced numerous changes over the last decade. One major aspect of the industry that has changed is the nature of health plans. Modern health plans are different compared to the traditional ones used a few years ago. Most changes have been witnessed due to the introduction of the Patent Protection and Affordable Care Act (Matcha, 2013).
Discussion
The nature of current health plans in the United States focuses on providing affordable health care to all citizens. One of the major differences between modern and earlier health plans is the increase in the number of participating employees (Jonas, Goldsteen, & Goldsteen, 2007).
Health plans in the contemporary world are more affordable. In the past, most part-time employees did not have health insurance because of their high costs. Since the introduction of Medicaid, all employees now have health insurance because of the reduced costs. Another notable difference between health plans used several years ago, and those used in the contemporary industry are the change in the nature of benefits (Jonas et al., 2007).
Unlike in the past where employees under a certain health plan had little or no limitations in terms of coverage and deductibles, modern plans have numerous elements that require a lot of monetary contribution (Matcha, 2013). People covered under modern health plans are required to pay coinsurance. For example, in 2013, one of the changes made to Obamacare allowed for the doubling of deductibles in situations where someone is subscribed to a health plan with multiple beneficiaries.
Another difference is that health plans used several years ago had people covered by managed care programs that minimized overall costs. On the other hand, modern health plans entail people choosing fee-for-service plans where insurance is provided by a preferred organization (Matcha, 2013).
This means that the cost of modern health plans is higher. The reason for this is that people that take up plans with preferred providers have to pay additional costs to receive services from other providers. This is different from the past, where a health plan included numerous providers. Another element that distinguishes modern health plans from the ones used several years ago is the contributions made by employees towards their medical cover (Jonas et al., 2007). In the past, most employees relied on their employers to pay for health insurance. In contemporary plans, employees have single coverage that requires everyone to pay for their health insurance fees (Matcha, 2013).
The payments are usually made depending on the plan that one finds convenient. The kind of benefits covered is also another element that distinguishes modern approaches from the ones used a little bit earlier (Jonas et al., 2007). In the traditional fee-for-service plans, people were entitled to both inpatient and outpatient benefits. On the other hand, contemporary health plans require people to specify the benefits they want covered under the plan they choose (Matcha, 2013). Modern plans have different costs depending on the kind of benefits being covered.
Conclusion
Employees working for state and local governments in the United States have increased their uptake of health plans. The numbers have increased a lot since the turn of the century due to new government policies. The main factor that has influenced the developments has been the effective management in the health care industry.
References
Jonas, S., Goldsteen, R.L., & Goldsteen, K. (2007). An Introduction to the U.S. Health Care System. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Matcha, D.A. (2013). Health Care Systems of the Developed World: How the United States’ System Remains an Outlier. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.