Healthcare Reforms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healthcare Reforms - Essay Example e services available to customers; and to cut the healthcare costs (Kronenfeld & Kronenfeld, 2004). The Obama administration has introduced a range of far-reaching reforms of the healthcare system, the most comprehensive since the adoption of the Medicare act in 1965 (Parks, 2011). This paper will review these health care reforms since health care reforms would be beneficial by reducing the overall price per family requirement and medical treatment delivered. Having these basic necessities available would make living in this country easier on the mind as well as the wallet. Having the ability to use the hospital’s resources in a time of need is a common resource not readily available to all Americans.The combined public-private healthcare scheme that was in existent before the healthcare reforms of 2010 was one of the costliest systems globally, with the costs of health care being the highest per individual as compared to any other country (Parks, 2011). Besides, United States comes second, after East Timor, in terms of the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) that is used on healthcare among the member countries of the United Nations (Parks, 2011). An independent research on global patterns of spending on health care indicates that United States uses more than any other member state in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Williams, 2011). Regardless of the massive spending, the research indicates that usage of health care servicesis lower thanthe OECD standards by most indicators. In addition, the findings show that costs incurred by individuals for various health care services are appreciably greater in the US (Williams, 2011). Therefore, these healthcare reforms are a relief to most American families as they will have access to more affordable health care resources and services whenever they need them. For instance, they introducecost-free preventative services, prohibition of insurance companies from barring person s with pre-existing conditions from getting their policies among many other comprehensive benefits to citizens (Williams, 2011). Opponents of these reforms argue thatincreasing the hospital’s resources to the general public at a no-cost rate would spark greed. They suggest that these patients and hospitals alike would disregard the cost and expect the government to front the bill. However, this is not true; the fact is these reforms do not make the system a single-payer scheme in which the state has total control over the health care. The changes would still retain the private insurance system (Parks, 2011). The reforms are only intensifying government’s regulation over health care insurance providers. Besides, an alternative for a public insurance scheme, administered in a similar manner to Medicare, brings in additionalstatefinancing into health care and willchange the market whilstchallengingthe private insurers in an exchange (Parks, 2011). The fact is that a publi c schemeincreases the government’s regulation but it is not a takeover of system. Health care reform