Chapter 8

1. Health Care Reform
Chapter 8

2. Problems with US Healthcare System
• Cost
• Access
• Committee on Costs of Medical Care (CCMC) –
created in 1927 to look into the problems of the
hc system
• Different past reports echo current situation
• P. 234
• In need of fundamental change
• Current situation: Harms too frequently and
routinely fails to deliver its potential benefits

3. Problems (continued)
• High cost
• Maldistribution of personnel and facilities
• Lack of financial access
• Lack of attention to health promotion &
disease prevention
• Heavy emphasis on the use of expensive
pharmaceuticals and medical/surgical
procedures

4. Solutions Proposed
• NHI (National Health Insurance)
• PHCS-persons covered by a benefit package,
can select provider, Gov’t funded
• Single-Payer-all healthcare needs would be
provided, administered on the state/local level
• CHP (Clinton Health Plan)-private health
insurance for everyone, choice of doc
(national benefits package)

5. Other Issues
• P. 253-Quality of care, expensive high tech
interventions(Problems were not a result of
lack of resources, but rather the misuse and
misallocation of resources)
• Ten Great Public Health Achievements, p. 254-
rational healthcare system
• Unplanned, unregulated growth of technology
and its use in medical care

6. Facts
• The Obama Health Care Plan or Obama Care Plan is a
plan for health care reform in the US.
• This plan was presented as a new health care bill,
officially titled the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act 2010, otherwise known as "ObamaCare".
• The bill was signed the law by President Obama in
2010.
• ObamaCare has already aided millions of Americans
afford better quality health insurance, helped to reform
the health insurance industry and has expanded
Americans healthcare rights. The bill also aims to
reduce wasteful spending in healthcare.

7. Facts
• The official name for "ObamaCare" is the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(PPACA). It is also commonly referred to as
Obama care, health care reform, or the
Affordable Care Act (ACA).
• The Affordable Care Act was signed into law to
reform the health industry by President
Barack Obama on March 23, 2010 and upheld
by the supreme court on On June 28, 2012.

8. Major Features:
• New Federal insurance Market Rules
• New health insurance exchanges
• Affordability provisions for low- and middle-income families
• A commitment to shared responsibility
• Improvements to Medicare prescription drug benefits
• Creation of a new long-term care financing program
• Investment in a stronger primary care foundation
• Establishment of an innovation center
• Creation of an independent advisory board
• Investment in the infrastructure required for a high-
performance health system
• (p. 260)

9. Facts
• What is ObamaCare? ObamaCare's goal is to give more Americans access
to affordable, quality health insurance, and to reduce the growth in health
care spending in the U.S.
• The Affordable Care Act expands the affordability, quality, and availability
of private and public health through consumer protections, regulations,
subsidies, taxes, insurance exchanges, and other reforms.
• The fact is ObamaCare does not replace private insurance, Medicare or
Medicaid.

10. Obamacare
• Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZkk6ueZt-
U&feature=player_embedded