Healthcare and insurance issues in the United States remain unsolved. However, Nitin Chhoda shares how the Affordable Care Act is planning to revise the provisions of insurance by changing the age limit of dependents, and amending the law when it comes to pre-existing conditions of a potential policy holder.
There is no single, simple solution to the problems with physical therapy documentation of healthcare and insurance in the United States. In fact, the problems have become circular in a way that feels like a loop; nobody knows if there is a way out.
We have been traveling in a direction that is destructive and unhealthy for a long time, and turning around is not going to be easy.
However, there are plenty of healthcare and insurance systems in many other countries that do work. With some research and open-mindedness, the U.S. could start to invest in new strategies and at the same time the American people could get better healthcare and insurance, leading to better health overall.
There will not be a perfect solution anywhere else, because every country is different. But for the price that the U.S. government pays in tax breaks to the health care industry, a better solution could probably be designed.
The Near Future
In the near future, we may see some improvements if the Affordable Care Act is implemented well. Some provisions which have already become effective have ensured that 3.1 million young Americans have healthcare and insurance.
Previously, as soon as a child reached the age of 18, they were no longer eligible to remain on their parents’ healthcare and insurance policy. The Affordable Care Act changes that age to 26, so that students and young people looking for work can still be included in their parents’ plans.
Additionally, the Affordable Care Act has made it illegal for healthcare and insurance companies to institute lifetime limits on healthcare benefits. For parents with children who become ill with life threatening diseases, the lifetime limit was like a death sentence.
Insurance Limit
If at the age of 7 a child is no longer insurable because they have reached a lifetime limit, the parents must somehow pay for healthcare and insurance on their own, which is impossible for the majority of Americans.
And finally, one more perk about the Affordable Care Act is that insurance companies can no longer reject a potential policy holder because they have a pre-existing condition.
In the past, if someone lost their job and subsequently their healthcare and insurance, any pre-existing condition could be reason enough to reject an application for insurance.
If you have diabetes, a mental illness, or any other disease that will cost money to treat, no insurance company will provide insurance for you. But because of the new healthcare and insurance law, insurance companies can no longer deny people with pre-existing conditions.
The Bigger Picture
While these changes are exciting and potentially life-saving for the people who benefit from more protective laws, they are really only patches for a system that has not really been working.
The bigger picture shows that the price of healthcare and insurance in this country is unaffordable to the majority of Americans. The question that will need to be answered eventually is whether or not it is worth it for the people of the United States to be given high quality healthcare and insurance.
