A Brief Note On The Affordable Care Act - 1667 Words

An Analysis of the Affordable Care Act Through a Health Equity Lens Rabeeha Ghaffar Creighton University An Analysis of the Affordable Care Act through a Health Equity Lens Because the principle of fair opportunity should apply to everyone, then we must not only improve the health of the population but reduce health inequalities, as well. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides us with the opportunity to advance health equity and social justice through expansion of Medicaid, establishment of state health exchanges and changes to private insurance to increase access. However, this opportunity has not been fully realized since the inception of the ACA because it was not implemented as a federal mandate, but rather allowed†¦show more content†¦There are considerable differences both in health and in the resources needed to ensure equal opportunity to all with regards to health care (Powers Faden, p. 36) and vulnerable populations often have decreased access to quality health care. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides us with the opportunity to advance health equity and social justice by affording equal access to health care for every American th rough market reforms, new health care insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion for low-income adults. However, this opportunity has not been fully realized since the inception of the ACA by leaving Medicaid expansion up to individual states. Other weaknesses result from the fact that provisions of the ACA has not often achieved the intended effects The first strength of the ACA is in its ability to advance health care through market reforms. Market reforms included in the ACA are decreased variance in health plan premiums regardless of health status or gender; access to parents’ health coverage for young adults until the age of 26; bans on lifetime limits on coverage, rescinding coverage and preexisting condition exclusions; coverage of a minimum set of essential preventative benefits; and a requirement that insurance companies spend at least 80% of premiums on medical costs (Kaiser Family Foundation and Alliance for Health Care Reform, 2012). In theory, this should increase the