Today, the government is more involved than ever in the state of healthcare in the United
States. This is due in part to the fact that even though the United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, we remain unable to effectively provide affordable and accessible healthcare to all living in our country. In 2011, over 49 million adults and children remain uninsured (Christie, 2011). The number of uninsured Americans has continuously grown over the past few decades but has increased recently due to the economic state.
Several past U.S. presidents have indicated that healthcare changes needed to happen at a national level, and in some respects, small strides were made under the direction of
President Bill Clinton; however, it was not until President Barack Obama was sworn into office in January of 2009 that healthcare changes were destined to occur. Under President
Obama, the concept of “healthcare reform” was born and real change started to take place at a national level. “Health reform makes healthcare more affordable, holds insurers more accountable, expands coverage to all Americans, and makes our health system sustainable”
(WhiteHouse.gov, n.d.). As part of healthcare reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by the president in March 2010. Under the ACA, several significant changes were enacted to benefit healthcare insurers and affect benefits for up to 88 million people by 2013.
According to WhiteHouse.gov (n.d.), these are the specific changes under the Affordable
Care Act:
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Bans lifetime limits
Bans dropping coverage when you need it most
Helps to cover young adults on their parents’ plans
Prohibits discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions
Restricts the use of annual limits
HCM 500 Module Five
1
When it comes to technology and healthcare, changes are also being made at the national level in an effort to reduce costs and improve quality of healthcare-related services. The U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology, has instituted the HITECH Act as part of American Reinvestment &
Recovery Act (ARRA). “HITECH” stands for Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health. According to the Office of the National Coordinator of Health