How the United States is Improving Access to Healthcare
For years the United States has made it difficult for the public, as a whole, to receive some sort of healthcare. The divide between the rich and the poor largely determines what kind of healthcare you can have. The poor have cheap healthcare that greatly under performs, causing people to remain sick or even get their families/friends ill. Comparing the States to the rest of the world, the United States has the most inefficient healthcare system. By looking at the categories of overall level of care, access to a form of healthcare, administrative efficiency, equity, and healthcare outcomes, the United States did not score a single 1 (the highest ranking out of 11). Being the worst in access to healthcare (11) and second to worst in administrative efficiency (10). Since 2004, the United States has ranked last overall out of the 11 countries being tested.[1]
The Affordable Care Act
One of the major ways the United States has tried to match the rest of the world with their progressiveness on Health Care is through former President Obama's Affordable Care Act. The controversial law was considered a major policy in Obamas election campaign, and was aimed to help close the gap between the rich and the poor and their health care problems. The comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010. The law has 3 primary goals…[2]
Make affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies (“premium tax credits”) that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. However, 60% of people who are eligible for these subsidies do not apply for them, per Kaiser Health[3]. While these subsidies were obviously made to help poor, marginalized groups in the United States, 56% of them will actually go to middle income families. The subsidy chart is made up of family size and with income, which determine if somebody is eligible or not.[4]
One of the major ways the United States has tried to match the rest of the world with their progressiveness on Health Care is through former President Obama's Affordable Care Act. The controversial law was considered a major policy in Obamas election campaign, and was aimed to help close the gap between the rich and the poor and their health care problems. The comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010. The law has 3 primary goals…[2]
Make affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies (“premium tax credits”) that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. However, 60% of people who are eligible for these subsidies do not apply for them, per Kaiser Health[3]. While these subsidies were obviously made to help poor, marginalized groups in the United States, 56% of them will actually go to middle income families. The subsidy chart is made up of family size and with income, which determine if somebody is eligible or not.[4]
Another action taken to help make healthcare more available to everyone is expanding the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level. (Not all states have expanded their Medicaid programs.) In 2014, 11.2% of full-time workers were without health insurance. However, the percentage of part-time workers without insurance was 17.7%, a significant decrease from 24% in 2013, thanks in part to this law. The uninsured rate among those who had not worked at least one week also decreased from 22.2% in 2013 to 17.3% in 2014. [2]
Support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally. Transportation can be critical for marginalized groups, as they tend to be on the lower end, fiscally. If getting somebody to the doctor is completely impossible, more and more doctors have offered online visits to help people who couldn't attend the office in person. [2]
CITATIONS
[1.] Hostetter, Martha, and Sarah Klein. “In Focus: Reducing Racial Disparities in Health Care by Confronting Racism.” Commonwealth Fund, September 27, 2018. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletter-article/2018/sep/focus-reducing-racial-disparities-health-care-confronting.
[2.] “Affordable Care Act (ACA) - HealthCare.gov Glossary.” HealthCare.gov. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/.
[3.] Amadeo, Kimberly. “Are You Missing Out on Obamacare Subsidies?” The Balance. The Balance, June 25, 2019. https://www.thebalance.com/obamacare-subsidies-3306073.
[4.] Multiple Authors. "Subsidy Amounts By Income for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)" Financial Samurai. Accessed December 13, 2019. https://www.financialsamurai.com/subsidy-amounts-by-income-limits-for-the-affordable-care-act-obamacare/
[2.] “Affordable Care Act (ACA) - HealthCare.gov Glossary.” HealthCare.gov. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/.
[3.] Amadeo, Kimberly. “Are You Missing Out on Obamacare Subsidies?” The Balance. The Balance, June 25, 2019. https://www.thebalance.com/obamacare-subsidies-3306073.
[4.] Multiple Authors. "Subsidy Amounts By Income for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)" Financial Samurai. Accessed December 13, 2019. https://www.financialsamurai.com/subsidy-amounts-by-income-limits-for-the-affordable-care-act-obamacare/