What health care reform did your articles address?
The articles I read addressed the implications for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under President Biden as part of his coronavirus relief bill, the American Rescue Plan (ARP). One article took as its primary focus the general implications for the Affordable Care Act brought by President Biden’s election victory (Rivard, 2021). Another looked in greater depth at the particular impact of the ARP on the ACA and the implications for American healthcare (Buck, 2021). The final article looked at the cost of the ARP and underlined the long-term challenges facing healthcare insurance (Levey, 2021).
What are the goals of this reform?
The Affordable Care Act, which was first introduced under President Obama, has aimed, since its inception, to widen the access to health insurance to a more significant number of Americans (Skinner & Chandra, 2016). The goal of the new rules is to broaden the subsidies for all income groups (Buck, 2021). This will in turn make nearly all Americans eligible for credits that will limit their health insurance premiums.
What are the implications of this reform in practice? Advantages? Challenges?
The main implication of this reform is the administration’s intent to hold on to the status quo inherited from the Obama administration. It is not a dramatic reform and keeps insurance private, though more durable than before, and does not follow more radical proposed shifts, such as “Medicare for All” (Buck, 2021). Another implication is the long-term challenge of price disparity in the healthcare industry that this act does not address but merely smooths over. The main advantage of the reform is the newfound affordability of health insurance plans for many (Levey, 2021). The main challenge to the complete introduction of President Biden’s health plan is the need for congressional action (Rivard, 2021). A further challenge is in addressing the coverage gap in those states that are holdouts.
References
Buck, Z. (2021). What the American Rescue Plan says about President Biden’s health care priorities – And what they mean for you. The Conversation. Web.
Levey, N. M. (2021). The COVID relief bill expands the Affordable Care Act. It doesn’t come cheap. NPR. Web.
Rivard, T. (2021). Implications for the Affordable Care Act under the Biden administration. MedCity News. Web.
Skinner, J., & Chandra, A. (2016). The past and future of the Affordable Care Act. JAMA, 316(5), 497–499. Web.