Essay on Health Insurance Exchange

Words: 1307
Pages: 6

Identify a government policy decision that has influenced or will influence your field of study. The policy decision can be a federal or state agency rulemaking, legislative action, or court decision that has already been or will be implemented. Discuss one positive and one negative effect that this policy has had or will have on your field.

America is about to make major changes in the country’s health care system. The goal of the Affordable Care Act is reduction of the number of uninsured individuals and health care expenses. Some call the reform unconstitutional, some fear inefficient implementation will lead to the opposite of the anticipated health care cost reduction. According to Kaiser Health Tracking Poll 29% of Americans
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Adverse selection. One of the weaknesses of the new reform is so called “adverse selection”. This means that healthy individuals may prefer paying penalty rather than enrolling in the health plan and only sick patients will purchase health insurance. Under the new law insurance companies will not be able to deny paying for pre existing conditions. Therefore, healthy people may wait for enrollment until they get sick. The influx of only high-risk individuals may raise health insurance company expenditures. With increased cost insurance companies will try to negotiate cheaper health plan contracts. Since cost of care will continue to rise hospitals will meet difficulties in treating more patients with less resources. Hospitals may be required to reduce health care providers’ salaries. As an ultimate result less individuals will desire to go to medical school and this will result in care provider deficit.

Although the proponents expect that the Act will drive hospital revenue, there are several issues that need to be considered. First, government programs like Medicaid are known to delay payments for services. Some experts fear Exchanges will not be an exception. Second, the revenue received from increased number of insured patients may not be as much as hospitals receive from government for treating uninsured patients. Federal and state authorities will probably consider substantial cuts of charity funds and hospitals could take