Paper Example on Patient Protection Law

Introduction

Patient safety is of primary importance for any country or state. The system of the U.S. healthcare has for decades faced some problems. Some of these problems are deprived access to medical coverage and the unaffordable costs for healthcare among its citizens1. Consequently, the U.S healthcare has been criticized for a long time with the blame going to the authorities. As a result, some laws have been enacted by both the federal government and the state government to improve patient protection. One of the laws passed to protect patients is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a health coverage law that was passed by the federal government. It came into effect on March 30, 20102. The law has also been referred to as Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACT), which is the revised version of law 2. The bill was enacted to bring about changes in Medicaid, Medicare, research funding, and health information systems private coverage and generally relate to issues related to insurance1.

Despite the law being a federal law, it has been more felt in some states than others. The state of New Jersey, for example, had to make some changes to comply with the federal requirements. Some of the changes that were made in the New Jersey law were the definition of employer and employee which are provided for by the ACT 2. In addition to that, the state of New Jersey adopted the use of Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) which allows the purchase of certain health covers including those with subsidy 1.

The aftermath of the PPACA has seen more improvements in the provision of health care in the U.S. some patient incentives have been developed by the government to provide more security to patients. For example, "Cadillac" tax has been imposed by the Section 9001 of the ACT 1. As a result, patients can acquire health care insurance through the use of "pre-tax" dollars.

Conclusion

In conclusion, patient protection is one of the enormous challenges that have faced the United States government for a long time. Developing a comprehensive health care system that provides for medical insurance and thus patient protection such as PPACA is one of the most significant efforts of the federal government to protect patients. Different states, for example, the state of New Jersey, have adjusted their health care laws to comply with the federal law. Thus, patient protection has been improved tremendously.

References

1. Federal Health Coverage Law - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. State.nj.us. https://www.state.nj.us/dobi/division_consumers/insurance/ppaca.html. Published 2018. Accessed September 3, 2018.

2. Montouchet C, Hart P. Cost Savings And Cost-Effectiveness Of The Contraceptive Mandate In The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act. The value of Health. 2013;16(3): A72. doi:10.1016/j.jval.2013.03.323