Analysis of the Affordable Care Act and Healthcare System

This report provides an overview of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, enacted in 2010. It details the factors leading to its enactment, including the aim to improve healthcare affordability and access for the uninsured population, and addresses the historical context of healthcare reform in the United States. The report outlines the criminal penalties associated with violations of the Act, including fraud and misuse of patient information. It identifies key provisions such as guaranteed issues, essential health benefits, and premium subsidies. Furthermore, the report analyzes the impact of the ACA on the healthcare sector, including positive and negative effects on nursing and healthcare providers, increased patient numbers, and advancements in healthcare technology, such as the implementation of Electronic Health Records. References to supporting documents are also provided.

Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare
SystemJP
2/2/2020

Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare and Nursing
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)
Date of enactment of the Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (PPACA) formally known as the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) and Obama-care, was enacted on March 23, 2010 by the 111th United States
congress and it is active since 2010 after signed by the ex-president Barack Obama. It is a
public welfare law famous in the people as Obama-care, includes provisions related to the
health safety, affordability issues, and effective solution to these issues (summary, 2010).
Factors lead the enactment of the Act
It is based on the aim to manage the health care facilities and Medicare structure in the
United States, overhaul of the healthcare affordability of the uninsured population, healthcare
reform is not a new concept, as it was most discussed matter of substantial debate since
1900’s , in the senate. All area about the development of this reformation was related to the
aim improve the facilities of the Medicaid to the patients without insurance (Satiani, 2011).
After the implementation of the Social Security Act 1965, many changes developed the
Medicaid and Medicare insurance program.
Main aim to lead the enactment of this act was to make effective efforts for the large
populations living without health insurance coverage and paying highly unstable rate of the
Medicare facilities. It has three main reasons behind enactment, first is improve the
healthcare quality, second one is controlling the cost of healthcare and last one is managing
the healthcare facilities (Adkinson & Chung, 2014).

Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare and Nursing
The criminal penalties, for violation of the Act
Section 10606 of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) provides and
discuss the various penalties imposed in the health care system, insurance providers and
individual mandates discussed below;
 Section 1104(B) PPACA describe the secretary of HHS is free to impose penalties fee
against a health plan if it fails to meet the requirements of the subsection (J)
 Section 1141(B) describes the knowing and wilfully providing fraud and wrong
information cause violation of the act and liable to the civil and other discussed
penalties
 Tax penalties imposed in Tax A and Tax B over the mandates employer
 Violation of PPACA false under the fraud and offenders are subjected to certain trials
of investigation, injunctions, freezing of the assets, and sentencing of the offenders for
committing the offences.
 Managing the Electronic Health Record of the patients is an effective innovation but
false use of the patient personal information or medical information by the Medicare
staff result in the criminal investigation and sanction of fraud penalties (Shaw,
Asomugha, Conway, & Rein, 2014).
Governed by the Act
Many agencies and individuals are governed by the enactment of The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (2010) in the healthcare department in the United States;
 Public or private healthcare hospitals and healthcare department
 An individual mandates
 Business mandates

Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare and Nursing
 Health insurance industry
The key provisions of the Act
Provisions of 2014 and Provision of 2016 have important amendments and provisions taken
in these years as follows;
 Guaranteed issues prohibiting insurers from denying covering the individuals on the
base of pre-existing condition
 Essential health benefits facilities imposed on the National academy of Medicine
 All policies bound to pay an Annual Maximum out Of Pocket (MOOP), this is
essential to be paid to as payment cap for a family’s, medical expenses or it can cover
an individual.
 Premium subsidies for the poor and weaker section of the society
Impact the Act on health care since implementation
The enactment of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) in the United States
affected the nursing health care sector in positive, negative and in many unexpected ways.
Since its implication in 2010, many amendments in the provisions of the act related to
Medicaid and Medicare facilities, tax, individual mandates and penalties has been made by
the legislative from time to time. A number of insured patients have been raised in the health
care ad they have their insurance and bale to pay the charge; patients are free to walk in a
hospital looking for a treatment.
Hospitals and nurses faced an increase in the number of emergency patients, affecting the job
availability for the nurses. Rise in the number of patient has raised the employment offers in
the hospitals for the nurses and many nurses are being employed in the hospitals (Nursing,
2020). It has opened many ways to advance the eminence of the fitness care sector by the

Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare and Nursing
innovation. Implementation of the Electronic Health Records manage its healthcare database
in easy way, development of the medical technology has increased the cost but resulted the
effective implementation of the nursing and welfare services with the aim to meet the insured
population of the country that allows them to get the affordable quality treatment equally
available for all.

Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare and Nursing
References
Adkinson, J. M., & Chung, K. C. (2014). The patient protection and Affordable Care Act: a
primer for hand surgeons. Hand clinics, 345-352.
Nursing. (2020, January). How the Affordable Care Act Has Impacted Nursing. Retrieved
February 02, 2020, from All Nursing Schools:
https://www.allnursingschools.com/articles/obamacare-and-nursing/
Satiani, B. (2011). Impact of the patient protection and affordable care act on vascular
imaging. Annals of vascular surgery, 985-989.
Shaw, F. E., Asomugha, C. N., Conway, P. H., & Rein, A. S. (2014). The Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act: opportunities for prevention and public health. The Lancet,
75-82.
summary. (2010, April 22). Summary of Fraud and Abuse Provisions of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act. Retrieved February -2, 2020, from Stevens&Lee:
https://www.stevenslee.com/summary-of-fraud-and-abuse-provisions-of-the-patient-
protection-and-affordable-care-act/