1SOCIALPROBLEMSESSAY– OPTIONBHealthCareandtheAffordableCar

1SOCIALPROBLEMSESSAY OPTIONBHealthCareandtheAffordableCar.
1SOCIALPROBLEMSESSAY OPTIONBHealthCareandtheAffordableCareActThispaperfocusesonthe PatientProtectionandAffordableCareAct (orACA),which wastheresultofheateddebateinoursociety.(NOTE:ThefinalversionoftheACAincludedsomeamendmentsfrom theHealthCareandEducationReconciliationActpassedafewdaysafterACA in2010. Also,pleasenotethattheACAisoftenreferredtoas Obamacare. However,thisispoliticallychargedtermsoavoidusingit inyouressay.)TasksToDoBeforeSelectingYourTopicandWriting:BecomefamiliarwiththeACAInordertobecomeknowledgeableabouttheACA,pleasedothefollowingandthenproceedontotheactualassignmentbelow.First, please watchthe 17-minutevideo Obamacare TheAffordableCareActExplained byKeithHughestogetanoverviewoftheACA. Thisisabroad,butverygood,summaryofthe law. Also,watchthe9-minute video HealthReformHitsMainStreet, which providessomeadditionaloverviewinformation.Feelfreetopausethevideos frequentlysoyoucanjotdownafewnotesforyourself.Thesevideosare ausefulsummaryofsomesubjectiveconcerns abouthealthcare intheU.S.thatoursocietyis tryingtoaddresswith theACA.VideobyKeithHughesThis HealthReformHitsMainStreet videoisusefultohelpunderstandwhatthehealthcareinsurancesituationwaslikeBEFOREtheACASecond, spend5-10minutesexaminingthe ImplementationTimeline oftheACAprovidebyKFF. ThisisVERYimportant. Inparticular,Iencourageyoutoscanthroughthe2010itemsandthe2014items. Thelawfirsttookaffectin2010andwas(forthemostpart)fullyimplementedin2014: CustomizeByTopic ontheleft.ThisisVERY useful innarrowingthefocusofyourpaper.Forexample,ifyouaremostlyinterestedintheACA saffecton Employers youcan deselectall thenre-clickjustthisareatoseewhatisintheACAunderthisnarrowertopic.WhenIdidthis,andthenclickedontheyear2010Igot: the SmallBusiness&TaxCredit, the ReinsuranceProgramforRetireeCoverage and the TherapeuticDiscoveryProjectCredit WhenIclickontheyear2014,Igot: Intheyear2014,Igot EmployerRequirements .2Anyoneoftheabovesub-topicswouldbeausefultopicforyourpaper.ThisisVERYhelpfulforidentifyingyourfocusinquestion#1below! Note:youwillneed2narrowlyfocused topics liketheabove fromtheACAforthisessaysopleasespendsometimewiththistimeline andtheaboveprocess!!Third, spend 5-10minutesscanningthroughthe SummaryofNewHealthReformLaw providedbythenon-partisanKaiserFamilyFoundation(KFF).Thismayaddabitmoredetailtothetwotopicsyouselectviathetimelineabove.KaiserSummaryofACA: Fourth, togetasenseofsomeadditionalperspectivesanddata,scan someof thefollowing.Youare,ofcourse,alwayswelcometodoindependentresearchbutthatisnotrequiredforthisessay.CentersforMedicareandMedicaidReport(March,2017)onACAMarketplacesenrollment: TheUpshot(October,2016)AQuickGuidetoRisingObamacareRates UnitedStatesCensus(September,2016) HealthInsuranceCoverageintheU.S. KaiserFamilyFoundation(September,2016) KeyFactsAbouttheUninsuredPopulation TheAmericanJournalofPublicHealth (August,2016) EffectoftheAffordableCareActonRacialandEthnicDisparitiesinHealthInsuranceCoverage .NewYorkTimes article IsTheAffordableCareActWorking? : 3CNN article HousesendsObamacarerepealbilltoWhiteHouse : Non-PartisanCBOreport (June,2015) BudgetaryandEconomicEffectsofRepealingtheAffordableCareAct theACA: article(August,2014)documentingdeclinesinfederalbudgetdeficitduetoACA: Forabriefreviewofthe2012SupremeCourtdecisionupholdingtheACA sconstitutionality,seethefollowing: Ifinterested,hereisthelinktothefullSupremeCourtdecision: Feelfreetoexamineothermorerecentarticlesinthereputableperiodicalsifdesired.Thesearejustsomeexamples.NOTE:Asyouwritethepaper,youmay useadditionalresources.However,thisisnotrequired.Ratherthanspendingyourtimesearchingforinformation,IwantyoutospendyourtimethinkingaboutandunderstandingtheACA.PaperInstructionsThesocialproblemof healthcare intheU.S.iscomplex.Thereisagreatdealofobjectivedataavailableaboutcostsandnumbersofpeoplesecuringcoverage (ornot),aswellasawidevarietyofsubjectiveconcerns beingexpressed bymembersofsociety. Peopleseemtowantcoverage,butourpast arrangements left manywithoutprotectionoraccess. Drawingfromthematerialabove,pleasewritea5-6-page essayaddressingthefollowing*:1) Inashortopeningparagraph,pleaseidentify2specificareasoftheACAthatinterestyouandthatyouwillwriteaboutintheessay.Toselectyourtopic,pleaseusetheKaiserFoundationtimelineidentifiedandexplainedearlierandbelow( Besuretodrilldownonaparticulartopicandyeartonarrowyourfocus.4SELECTINGYOURTOPICS,EXAMPLEA. Ifyouusethefollowingclick-path,youwillendupwiththetopic AnnualFeesonthePharmaceuticalIndustry : Under customizebytopic click deselectall Clicktheboxfor prescriptiondrugs Clickontheyear 2012 YoushouldseetheACAprovisionsbeingimplementedin2012for AnnualFeesforthePharmaceuticalIndustry SELECTINGYOURTOPICS,EXAMPLEB. Ifyouusethefollowingclick-path,youwillendupwiththetopic AdultDependentCoveragetoAge26 : Under customizebytopic click deselectall Clicktheboxfor insurance Clickontheyear 2010 Clickon AdultDependentCoveragetoAge26 to seetheACAprovisionsforthistopicUsingtheaboveexample click-paths, pleaseselect2topics ofyourownchoosing forthepaper.You willfocusonthesetwoareaswhenanswering theremainingquestions.Intheopeningparagraph besuretobriefly explainwhatthe2topics areabout.Besuretoselectsomethingnarrowand doable ; rememberthatyouhavejust5-6 pagesforthisessay.Theopening paragraphshouldberoughlyahalf-pageorless.2) In atleasttwo separateparagraphs, anddrawinguponthewebsitesmadeavailabletoyouinthisassignment,orother credibleresources,please:a. Identifyandexplainaspecificsubjectiveconcern relatedtoeachofthe2areasyouselectedin#1.Inotherwords,whatwas itthatpeoplewereconcernedaboutthatthese2areasoftheACAattempttoaddress?Whywerethesetwoareas includedintheACA? Whatproblemsweretheytryingtosolve?b. Next,identifyonesubjectiveconcernforeachofyour2areasthat isexpressedbythosewhooppose theassistancebeingprovidedbytheACA.Whatarethey worriedabout?Feelfreetouseaquote(ifneeded)followedbyanin-textcitationlike:(CNN,2016).AbibliographyisNOTrequiredunlessyouuseoutsidesources.3) Inaseparateparagraph,pleasebriefly identifywhatculturalvalue(orvalues) is/arereflectedinthedebatein#2.Remember,culturalvaluesarestandardsofwhatis good, fair or just inasociety.ThereareparticularAmericanvaluesthatunderpintheACAdebateandIexpectyoutoconnectthedebatetoatleastone.Thisdiscussionofvaluesmayrelatedirectlytoyourtwonarrowtopicsselectedabove,orifyouprefer,youcandiscusswhatAmericanvaluesthatunderpintheoveralldebateaboutthe ACAinoursociety.54) Inaseparateparagraph ortwo,identify2 specificpieces ofobjectivedata (i.e.,ameasurablestatisticfromareliablesource) relatedtotheACA.Often,peopleexpresssubjectiveconcernaboutasocialproblem,buttheavailableobjective datadoesn tsupportit.Again,asimplein-textcitationlike(NewYorkTimes,2016)or(CBO,2015)shouldbeusedfollowingthe data.Also,ifpossible,pleasestatehowthesedatarelate tothedebatesurroundingatleastoneofyourtopics.Ifthese datadon t relatedirectlytoyourselectedtopics(andthey don t haveto),pleasebrieflystatehowtheinformation youselected isusefulinunderstandingthesocialproblem ofprovidinghealthinsurance/care viatheACAoverall.5) Ina separateparagraph(ortwo,ifyoufeelthatitisusefulintermsoforganizationandclearwriting),pleasebrieflycontrasthowafunctionalistandaconflicttheoristwouldapproachthesocialproblemofhealthcare andtheproposedsolution thatis,theACA- intheU.S.?Besuretoapply eachapproachtotheproblem,ratherthansimplyre-statethebasicperspectiveforeachwithoutconnectingittohealthcareandtheACAdebate.HowmightaconflicttheoristthinkthroughtheACA?Howmightthatdifferfromafunctionalist?6) Inaseparateparagraph,pleasetellmeyourgeneralthoughtsabouttheACA.Areyouinfavor,opposed,somewhereinthemiddle?Why?Also,pleasetellmehowyoursociallocation likelyaffectsyourperspective.Remember,sociallocationincludesyourgender,racial-ethnicbackground,socialclass,religiousaffiliation,andotheraspectsofidentityandculture.Bespecificwithyoursociallocation andhowitmayinfluenceyourperspective.*PleaseCAREFULLYreadtheGradingRubricandtheWritingRequirementsdocumentformoredetails.Ifyouhavequestions,pleaseemailme.Spelling,grammar,andcogentwritingmatter sopleasethinkcarefullyaboutwhatyouaretryingtosayineachparagraphandproofreadcarefully.NOTE:Ifyouknowthatyoustrugglewithclear,effectivewriting,pleasecontacttheLearning Center ( ormeforassistance.Ifyouwantassistancefromme,pleasescheduleanappointment(eitherphoneorin-person)withme atleast5daysbeforethepaperisdue.Pleaseplanahead!6THEFOLLOWINGISJUSTFORYOURINFORMATION.ITISNOTAREQUIREDPARTOFTHISPAPERASSIGNMENT.Recently,theRepublicanmajorityintheHouseofRepresentativesproposedabillto repealandreplace theACA.ItwascalltheAmericanHealthCareAct(AHCA).Hereissomeinformationonthisproposal. AsI msureyouknow,thebillwasnevercalledforavotebecausetheRepublicanleadershiprealizedtheydidn thavethevotesneededforpassage.KaiserSummaryoftheAmericanHealthCareAct(AHCA) KaiserSide-By-SideComparisonofACAandAHCA: CBO(non-partisanCongressionalBudgetOffice)EstimatesofCostsfortheAHCA:Summary3/17/17: UpdatedSummaryandReport3/23/17toreflectamendments: articleontheCBOestimatedcostsofAHCA:
1SOCIALPROBLEMSESSAY OPTIONBHealthCareandtheAffordableCar