Health Reform Overview
The healthcare system in the United States is categorized into private and public systems. The private healthcare system targets individuals while public health focuses on the general population. Before the establishment of the Affordable Care Act, the private sector dominated the healthcare industry. Consequently, health insurance plans were unaffordable to low-income people. Many people were unable to access health care services. The situation increased the death rates in the country. The main objective of establishing the Affordable Care Act was to ensure that every individual accesses quality care services. Through the HHS, the government coordinates the public health system in all states. Ohio is one of the states that have realized the full implementation of healthcare reforms. Although there are operational challenges, Ohio has achieved several improvements with the reforms.
Health Reform in Ohio
The implementation of healthcare reforms in Ohio has been effective. The establishment of health insurance marketplaces allowed the public to access affordable health insurance. Through the Marketplace platform, the public got the opportunity to sign up for various coverage options. The online and offline options of signing up helped in getting a maximum number of people enrolled. Various health coverage options ensure that all people are covered irrespective of their income status. Consequently, more than 234,000 consumers re-enrolled for quality and affordable coverage. Approximately 84 percent of the consumers qualified for the $244-monthly tax credits while 41 percent received the $100-monthly tax credits (HHS, 2016). The higher percentage of the Marketplace applicants shows the effectiveness of the system.
Positive Outcomes
The implementation of healthcare reforms has provided both positive and negative results to the low-income people in the state. The number of issuers from which consumers choose coverage options in the Marketplace increased from 12 in 2014 to 16 in 2016. The number of healthcare plans increased from 30 in 2014 to 54 in 2015 (HHS, 2016). Within a year, consumers had 24 more options from which they could choose based on affordability and quality. Since the establishment of affordable care in the country, people have continued to benefit from cheap healthcare plans.
The implemented healthcare reforms have had significant impacts on the community health in Ohio. Medicaid has changed the lives of many people in the community. The program is available to all people throughout the year. It is the same case with the Children’s Health Insurance. The availability of the two plans throughout the year has helped in reducing the number of uninsured people in the community. The rate of uninsured individuals in Ohio reduced from 13.9 percent to 10.5 percent between 2013 and 2014 (HHS, 2016). The programs also allow people living in rural areas to access health coverage plans.
Negative Outcomes
In terms of negative results, technical aspects of the Marketplace platform prevent others members of the public from signing up for coverage options. The financial support given by the government is not enough to cover everybody. Therefore, the implemented healthcare reforms do not guarantee care services to all people (Saunders, 2015).
Economics in Healthcare
The implemented healthcare has both positive and negative effects on the economy. The active population now access quality health care services. A healthy working force improves the economic development of a country through high productivity. However, the plan also has negative effects on the economy (Saunders, 2015). Ohio State has received more than 217 million under the program to provide various primary care plans and develop healthcare infrastructure (HHS, 2016). To obtain such an amount of money, citizens must pay additional taxes such as individual and employer mandates.
In conclusion, the implementation of healthcare reforms in Ohio is successful. The state department of HHS has successfully used the Marketplace platform to sign up more people for various health coverage options. A higher percentage of people living in rural areas can now access quality care services. When the majority of the active population is healthy, they become more productive. As a result, their efforts in various industries improve. The healthcare reforms take more funds that could be used in other economic sectors. However, its implementation increased the number of adults and children with healthcare insurance plans.
References
HHS. (2016). Health care facts and features: State by state. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Web.
Saunders. (2015). Chapter 11: The health care system (PowerPoint slides). Miamisburg, OH: Elsevier Inc.
Saunders. (2015). Chapter 12: Economics of health care (PowerPoint). Miamisburg, OH: Elsevier Inc.