Legislative Proposal
Legislative Proposal
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Legislative Proposal
Research Outline
Legislative Proposals
- Extension of tax credit to the underprivileged in the society.
- Extending parental coverage for individuals of up to 28 years old.
- Negation of tax boosts for the wealthy and insurance providers.
- Promotion of health information technology in the health care setting.
- Exempting companies from servicing the insurance covers of the employees.
- Significant discounts for individuals who maintain premium payments.
This paper offers an alternative legislative proposal which will be inclined towards the determination of an efficient and operational healthcare system. The recommended health framework is known as the Contemporary Comprehensive Care (CCC).
Key Terms
Tax Credits: The term will reflect on the financial empowerment that is extended by the state to the individuals who seek insurance covers but are unable to cover the service currently.
Parental Coverage: The term refers to the insurance covers taken by the parents in a given family which covers their children up until they attain the age of 28. It is an improvement to the current limit of 26.
Tax Boosts: The term refers to the extra taxes that wealthy individuals were compelled to pay by the state under the old health framework to service the insurance of the underprivileged and low-income earners in the society.
Health Information Technology: The term refers to the modernization of the health care services through the engagement of the efficient information tools such as computers to store, analyze and retrieve data.
Overview of the New Legislation Framework
The Contemporary Comprehensive Care (CCC) provides a response to the failures projected by the ACA. It is a healthcare legislation that seeks to streamline service delivery by reinforcing fairness to both the rich, the poor, and the insurance providers. Some of the major elements of the CCC include the extension of tax credits. The extension of tax credit suffices the need to ensure more people are empowered to buy insurance. Previously, the ACA tax credit was predicated on one’s income and the insurance cost (Aron-Dine & Straw, 2017). However, CCC eases the financial burdens that individuals have to contend with taking out insurance covers. Alternatively, the next priority under the CCC cover includes the extension of parental coverage to ensure that the unemployment hindrance is controlled. The initiative promotes coverage by protecting the unemployed against the financial impositions of insurance covers. The negation of tax boosts, as it is mandated by the new policy, ensures that the rich in the society are not compelled to carter for the healthcare needs of the poor as had been stipulated in the ACA framework. Lastly, the new legislation framework addresses the need for the succinct incorporation of the health information technology in the healthcare system to enhance the efficiency of operations. Health information technology will serve to augment the productivity of the workforce in the healthcare industry (Anderson, 2014).
Conclusion
The Contemporary Comprehensive Care (CCC) is a healthcare legislation that seeks to improve healthcare services in the US by expanding coverage, enhancing service delivery through technology and mitigating the cost impositions on the citizens. Principally, it creates an equal platform of insurance coverage by the US citizens and further protects businesses against exploitation by reinforcing fairness. It is further intended to ensure that health concerns are addressed in an orderly, accelerated and efficient manner.
Abstract
Health care provision comprises an indispensable element in the society. The efficiency and productivity of a people is directly influenced by the quality and availability of health care that is available in a given country. Given the need to streamline the service provision initiative, the Affordable Care Act was established in the US. The policy was intended to enhance the efficiency of service provision by reducing the health care costs. It was further inclined towards the expansion of insurance covers to address the needs of all Americans regardless of their economic situations. Alternatively, the provision succinctly defined the engagement of Information Technology (IT) in the extension of services. However, given the many failures of the policy, there is need for the engagement of a new legislative framework which will comprehensively address all aspects of the service delivery process. Thus, this paper examines the efficiency of the ACA frameworks and suggests a legislative recommendation which offers solutions to all the unaddressed segments of health care provision.
Key words: Health care, policy, insurance.
Contemporary Comprehensive Care
Recent times have seen an increase in the demand for healthcare services. Healthcare services refers to all the services that are extended to patients within and outside the hospital settings with the intention of improving or addressing health conditions. It is intended to prevent deaths and alleviate some of the health concerns that people face. Nonetheless, despite the indispensability of health care, there are factors which significantly impede access to healthcare. For instance, most of the citizens in the US are unable to access healthcare given the high cost that is often charged on the services. Additionally, the majority of the minority groups’ members cannot access sufficient healthcare. Given the necessity of an efficient and productive policy, this paper examines the current healthcare policy, its failures and efficiencies, and additionally offers a legislation that will enable the modernizing of the services. Principally, this analysis seeks to identify the unaddressed aspects in the current healthcare policy framework through the suggestion of relevant interventions.
Current Healthcare System
The current healthcare policy, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was enacted in 2010 by the former president of the United States Barack Obama. It was intended to address the rising costs of the health care in the United States. Principally, the expansion of the public and private insurance covers provided the first step in the mitigation of the cost impediments to quality healthcare service. The expansion of the insurance covers aimed to reduce the costs that the government had to bear in the extension of healthcare services to the citizens. Before the introduction of the ACA, most insurance companies were phasing out individuals who could no longer sustain the high costs of the covers that were being offered. Some of the businesses operating in the industry were shutting operations citing the impeding costs of service extension. Thus, the government was compelled to determine an intervention that would serve to mitigate the costs that were imposed on the clients and to further cushion the small businesses against the monopoly influences of the large corporations. Principally, the areas addressed by the ACA can be divided into 9 segments. The ACA intended to achieve quality and affordable health care for all Americans, augment the role of public programs, the prevention of chronic disease and the improvement of public health, the improvement of the healthcare workforce, the reinforcement of transparency and program integrity, the improvement of access to innovative medical therapy, enhanced support for community living assistance and the streamlining of revenue provisions.
The ACA further sought to streamline the mechanization of the health care delivery services. The policy intended to incorporate information technology in the healthcare industry by demanding the use of computers and other related components to document, store and retrieve data. Health Resources and Services Administration (2012) indicates that the ACA grants were inclined towards the “adoption and implementation of health information technology in more than 600 health centers throughout the U.S.” Some of the grants extended in the ACA policy include $2 billion offered for HITEC equipment application in healthcare facilities. Additionally, the ACA provided $30 billion to account for the training of the healthcare practitioners to enhance the efficiency of the HIT application process (Health Affairs, 2010). Despite the many efficiencies of the ACA, it is still subject to several impediments that may hinder the effectiveness of the health service delivery.
Some of the problems with the current system include its negative implications on the profit-making initiatives of the several organizational stakeholders in the healthcare industry. To offset the impositions brought about by the increased operational costs, insurance companies increased the premiums that were charged on the subscribers. Consequently, “since 2008, average employer family premiums have climbed a total of $4,865. From 2015 to 2016 the most popular exchange family plan, Family Silver, saw a 10% average increase in its premiums. In some states, premiums rose by nearly 40%.” (Furchtgott-Roth, 2016). Initially, the care was further touted to enable the flexibility and sustenance of the insurance plans that were assumed by the subscribers. It was aligned towards the negation of the disparities gap which prevented the risk populations from access to health care (Adepoju, Preston & Gonzales, 2015). Thus, “the ACA will expand health insurance coverage to an additional 26 million people by 2024” (Adepoju, Preston & Gonzales, 2015). However, many individuals in the United States lost their plans given that it did not meet the stringent measures that had been put in place by the ACA with regards to the ratification of plans between the involved individuals and the insurance organizations. Other than the loss of the plans, the ACA did not further the business end of the insurance industry. Principally, it led to the reduction of competition which negates the quality of the services that are extended to individuals seeking care and insurance covers.
Alternatively, the Obamacare failed to sustain the Co-Op program. The Co-Op programs saw the establishment of 23 nonprofit health insurers which were intended to reduce premium costs and further improve the service delivery process. The initiative was a reflection of the desire to develop a framework that empowered the maximum number of individuals to take covers. Senger (2017) posits that “these insurers launched in 2014, using $2.4 billion in taxpayer-funded ‘loans’. Shortly thereafter, they began to collapse like dominos”. 18 out of the 23 insurance providers created under the Co-Op programs failed to prosper and had to halt operations. Thus, the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan Programs was not feasible and sustainable in the long run. Lastly, the ACA failed to address the need to curtail government expenditure in health service delivery (Edsall, 2014). Essentially, the implementation of the Obamacare framework was estimated to have cost $1.8 trillion in healthcare spending (Senger, 2015). To sustain the initiative, the policy determined the need to cut Medicare expenditure to account for the efficiency of the ACA policy. The cuts do not help to reduce the state’s expenditure on healthcare service delivery but instead add on to the costs that were being borne before the ratification of the subject healthcare framework. Overall, there is need for the introduction of a new healthcare legislation to improve health care delivery and further mitigate the occurrences of unintended outcomes in the delivery of the services.
Legislation Proposal: Contemporary Comprehensive Care
The need for an inclusive, responsive and efficient healthcare legislation cannot be overstated. It is the duty of the state to establish a legal framework that addresses the needs of the different segments of individuals in the community. Subsequently, the Contemporary Comprehensive Care Act (CCA) takes into consideration the elements of the ACA that failed to address the needs of the insurance providers and the other stakeholders involved in the initiative. Some of the factors that are going to influence the parameters of the new healthcare legislation include cost factors, the efficiency factors, and lastly, the comprehensiveness factor.
Extension of Tax Credits: The Contemporary Comprehensive Care (CCC) provides an improvement of the existing healthcare legal framework. It reinforces efficiency while promoting the metric of sustainability. To begin with, the CCC seeks to create and oversee the extension of tax credits to ensure that people are able to buy insurance. The expansion will significantly augment the healthcare initiatives by promoting access to care for the minority groups (Sommers, Baicker, & Epstein, 2012). The initiative is in line with the need to ease access to affordable healthcare for all Americans. Most of the individuals who are unable to take insurance covers are often hindered by financial requirements (Cannan, 2013). The introduction of the tax credits eases the financial burdens that the average citizen had to contend with under the ACA framework. The article Republicans unveil bill to replace Obama Medicaid contends that there is a need for revision of the prevailing healthcare policy to address the needs of the low-income earners (CBC News, 2017). From the tax credits, more people will be allowed the opportunity to take insurance covers and thus better healthcare service for all of the individuals irrespective of their economic situations will be provided. Whereas initially, every American was directed to have an insurance that is reflective of their plans under the ACA health legislation (Obama, 2016), the CCC aims to engage an open market system which encourages potential clients to purchase insurance covers at appropriate market prices. Tax credits encourage rather than demand the purchase of an insurance cover (Pear & Kaplan, 2017). The segment of the CCC directly addresses the need for the mitigation of cover prices while at the same time ensures that profitability is sustained by the insurance providers in the United States.
Extension of Parental Coverage: To further protect citizens against exploitation and ensure maximum coverage, the CCC will allow young individuals to stay on their parent’s health plans until they attain the age of 28. The initiative is an expansion of the need to make insurance coverage portable for all Americans. Mainly, individuals start becoming productive in the age of 28. Thus, they are unable to take and sustain the payment of insurance premiums which curtails the number of individuals with covers in America. It acknowledges the mixed eligibility for health insurance that different families display given the parental employment situation (Ortega, Rodriguez, & Bustamante, 527). The CCC seeks to provide a platform by which the young and unproductive individuals in the society are able to access insurance covers. Intrinsically, allowing the poorer individuals in the society to take insurance covers promotes the sense of togetherness that comprises the American people.
Negation of Tax Boosts: Alternatively, CCC seeks to negate the tax boosts that were extended towards insurance providers in the US. The negation of the tax boosts is in line with the need for the creation of a legislation that is budget neutral without raising or creating new taxes. The majority of the high-income earners were subjected to taxes which were then committed to the expansion of insurance coverage in the US under the current ACA framework. The CCC, in recognition of the negative implications of such an action, contends that the rich should not be made to bear the costs of the poor in the society with regards to health coverage. The costs should be spread equally and thus CCC seeks to provide a platform that encourages the ratification of a plan based on one’s financial abilities rather than the transmission of costs from one individual to another. Additionally, the CCC seeks to halt the requirement in the current ACA framework which directs the large corporations in the US to offer coverage to all of the staff. The initiative provided a hindrance to the efficiencies of the productive processes since the subject companies would be compelled to offset the premiums charged on their employees regardless of their health conditions. CCC is inclined towards levelling the field for all individuals and does not create a distinction between the rich and the poor. It is a reinforcement of the mantle of fairness and equity in the society.
Incorporation of Health Information Technology: Lastly, the CCC reinforces the need for engagement of health information technology (HIT) in healthcare service delivery. Data collection, information storage and retrieval should be conducted by the use of computers and central databases. The promotion of health information technology in the healthcare segment provides a platform through which the efforts of the health care providers can be streamlined and augmented to further productivity (Anderson, 2014). Principally, each healthcare institution will be facilitated with a central database which stores both client and practitioner information. The current legislative framework is more concerned with patient information. The emphasis that is placed on the storage of practitioner information accelerates the service delivery process. Practitioners become increasingly accountable for their actions if and when they are made to store their professional information next to the information of the patients they are attending to. Additionally, the new legislation allows $6 billion to initiatives that are intended to further the efficiency of service delivery through IT components. The success of the services that are offered in the healthcare industry is directly related to the practitioner’s ability to employ and manipulate the available tools. Thus, the CCC commits itself to training and aiding the practitioners’ abilities to fully address the patient health concerns through the use of the technological tools.
Conclusion
The Contemporary Comprehensive Care (CCC) framework was intended to address some of the healthcare challenges that were not addressed by the current ACA policy. It addresses the need for the protection of the health of low income earners by expanding insurance covers. It further establishes metrics through which informational technology components can be integrated into the healthcare system. The Contemporary Comprehensive Care (CCC) initiative intends to streamline healthcare delivery by ensuring that the rich are not overtaxed to compensate for the cover needs of the poor as is being witnessed in the Current ACA framework. It further identifies frameworks which can be used to increase insurance coverage across the American country.
References
Adepoju, O. E., Preston, M. A., & Gonzales, G. (2015). Health Care Disparities in the Post-Affordable Care Act Era. American Journal of Public Health, 105(5), 665-667.
Affordable Care Act helps expand the use of health information technology. (2012, December 20). Retrieved May 21, 2016, from Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA).
Anderson, A. (2014). The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Health Care Workforce. The Heritage Foundation, 1-20.
Aron-Dine, A. & Straw, T. (2017). House GOP Health Bill Still Cuts Tax Credits, Raises Costs by Thousands of Dollars for Millions of People. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1-24.
Cannan, J. (2013). A Legislative History of the Legislative Care Act. Law Library Journal, 105(2).
Edsall, T. B. (2014, December 2). Is Obamacare Destroying the Democratic Party. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/opinion/is-obamacare-destroying-the-democratic-party.html?referer=
Health Information Technology: Laying the Infrastructure for National Health Reform. (2010, April 29). Retrieved from Health Affairs: https://m.content.healthaffairs.org/content/29/6/1214.full
Lewandowski, C. R. (2017). Corey Lewandowski: GOP health bill will improve care. The Hill. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/338854-corey-lewandowski-the-gop-bill-to-replace-obamacare-will-save
Furchtgott-Roth, D. (2016). Opinion: 7 Obamacare failures that have hurt Americans. Market Watch. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-obamacare-failures-that-have-hurt-americans-2016-03-24
Obama, B. H. (2017). Repealing the ACA without a Replacement – The Risks to American Health Care. The New England Journal of Medicine, 376, 297-299.
Obama, B. (2016). United States Health Care Reform: Progress to Date and Next Steps. JAMA, 316(5), 525-532.
Ortega, A. N., Rodriguez, H. P., & Bustamante, A. V. (2015). Policy Dilemmas in Latino Health Care and Implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The Annual Review of Public Health, 36, 525-544.
Pear, R. & Kaplan, T. (2017). House Republicans Unveil Plan to Replace Health Law. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/affordable-care-act-obamacare-health.html
Repulicans unveil bill to replace Obamacare, Change Medicaid. (2017, June 22). Retrieved from CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/health-care-proposal-us-senate-1.4173048
Senger, A. (2015). Five reasons to repeal Obamacare. The Heritage Foundation. http://www.heritage.org/health-care-reform/commentary/five-reasons-repeal-obamacare
Senger, A. (2017). 8 Reasons Why Obamacare Should Be Repealed. The Heritage Foundation. http://www.heritage.org/health-care-reform/commentary/8-reasons-why-obamacare-should-be-repealed
Sommers, B. D., Baicker, K., & Epstein, A. M. (2012). Mortality and access to care among adults after state Medicaid expansions. N Engl J Med, 367(11), 1025-1034.