1. HLTH 556
ARTICLE REVIEW FORM
Your Name: Lydia B. Coleman
Title of Article: Law and the Public’s Health: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implications for
Public Health Policy and Practice
Author (s): Sara Rosenbaum, JD
Source:
Rosenbaum S. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implications for Public Health Policy and
Practice. Public Health Reports. 2011; 126(1):130. Available at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001814/. Accessed March 28, 2016.
Author’s proposed purpose/goal of the Article:
With the subject of a universal healthcare delivery system is still rather new, Professor Sara Rosenbaum
discusses the key elements of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and discusses each element by topic. She takes
the subject of the Affordable Care Act and breaks the topic into discussion segments that allows readers to
understand how the policy affects everyday life1
. The article highlights the importance and key elements on
how this particular law is to deliver a better functioning health as well as provide healthcare insurance to those
who are currently uninsured. Professor Rosenbaum also underlines how the policy will also better improve the
quality of healthcare over time. The targeted population is not only students of Public Health Policy, but for
those who truly would like to understand how the ACA can and will affect daily life.
Analysis of Key Issues:
Professor Rosenbaum details how this particular policy will provide the primary necessity of health coverage to
nearly 31 million Americans1
. In order to further educate the reader, Professor Rosenbaum breaks the policy
down into several of key aims and explains each within the article itself. For example, in order to further
understand the health insurance coverage reforms, Professor Rosenbaum details how the Affordable Care Act
allows the reframing and repairing of the financial relationship between Americans and health-care systems in
order to provide basic care to those in need2
. The article also highlights how the government will implement and
reinforce state funded insurance programs through explicit state legislative resource or as a result of the state’s
general power; the policy makers within the federal government must be careful not to tread over the 10th
Amendment in our Constitution, protection against the commandeering of state law enforcement resources1,2
.
The ACA allows room for development that allows better group, employer-funded healthcare benefits to be
distributed amongst workers within the country. The Act will initiate at-work health incentives in order to
promote a positive health outcome for employees3
. As the Act develops into a highly structured plan, the room
for quality, long term care will transcend into a transparent system in which the targeted quality practice and
1
Rosenbaum S. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice. Public Health
Reports. 2011; 126(1):130. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001814/. Accessed March 28, 2016.
2
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat 119 (March 23, 2010)
3
National Association of Insurance Commissioners and The Center for Insurance Policy and Research. Letter from Jane Cline,
President, NAIC, to the Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, August 5, 2010
[cited 2010 Sep 12]. Available from: URL:
hhtp://www.naic.org/documents/index_health_reform_section_letter_kathleen_sebelius.pdf

2. HLTH 556
reform improvement will allow for a multi-payer system in order to promote extensive health information
access across the country2,3
.
Conclusions/Findings/Assumption:
While the ACA continues to develop past its 2014 start date, the continual development and improvement for a
universal, affordable healthcare plan will be improving overtime. As technology develops, the research
methods on how to provide an affordable healthcare delivery plan will evolve from a basic thought in Congress
to a nation and statewide protection plan to those who cannot afford health insurance coverage on their own
income3
. The 31 million Americans who are fortuitious enough to attain a portion of this program will continue
to see an improvement on their healthcare quality and care1, 3
. Unfortunately, while 31 million people are
covered under this Act, another 25 million Americans will be without health insurance. The question here is to
reevaluate the role of public health for the populations who cannot be protected by the ACA. Professor
Rosenbaum indicates how this Act will transform care and coverage, however, policymakers must recognize
how public health policies can and will affect the basic needs of universal coverage2,3
.
Personal assessment and reflection:
The ACA has become a taboo topic since its first introduction to the policymakers of our nation. The
progression of the ACA has left a majority of working people without insurance. Health insurance and other
coverage benefits have become overly commoditized over the last 5 years; our system has developed into an
Oligopoly4
, allowing a select few policymakers determine who is entitled to healthcare and who is not. I
appreciated the reading and analyzing the article because it allowed me to have a deeper examination of the
ACA from a professor's viewpoint. There are too many political-heavy articles in our media outlets today that
do not outline and detail the depths of a policy like this particular one. Students and policymakers alike should
investigate and triage the policies that they are analyzing and critiquing; there are public forums available online
that can outline what bills and what policies are currently in review. Overall, I feel that the ACA can become an
example of a free-market healthcare policy. As transparency becomes an improved issue for universal
healthcare, policy makers must be wary not to transform the ACA into an oligopolistic entity that will limit the
already poor minority1,3,4
. This was a well written, informative article and I will continue to follow Dr.
Rosenbaum’s research as time progresses.
4
Forbes Welcome. Forbescom. 2016. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/07/healthcare-reform-insurance-hospitals-
contributors-merrill-matthews-obamacare.html. Accessed March 30, 2016.