American Healthcare: History, Policies, and Current Status

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the healthcare system in the United States. It begins with an introduction to universal health coverage and contrasts it with the current American system. The report then delves into the history of health insurance in the USA, tracing the evolution from early initiatives to the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. It subsequently analyzes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, examining its objectives, impact on different population groups, and associated drawbacks. The report concludes with a discussion of the current state of American healthcare, including recent policy changes and ongoing challenges. The report uses data, charts and graphs to support its analysis and provides references to support its claims.

Health care in America

1. Introduction

Universal Health Coverage
▪ Existence is the basic right for every living being.
▪ The availability of health assistance for the public should not be
discriminated against based on economy and religion.
▪ Most developed countries such as the United Kingdom, France,
Switzerland, and Canada have provided 100 % health insurance
coverage to its citizens (Martinson & Reichman, 2016;
Montgomery , 2020).
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Universal Health Coverage Cont.…
▪ America ranks number 1 in terms of gross domestic product.
▪ As per the government data, 11.8 % population in 2018 was
below the poverty line.
▪ Only 88 % of populations have health insurance
(Montgomery , 2020).
▪ The country does not have Universal Health coverage.
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2. History

History of Health Insurance in USA
▪ The political leaders, Officials, and various labor unions
have tried in their respective periods for the improvement
of health service in the country.
▪ Efforts have been carried out to provide medical assistance
to the people at the time of need by providing economic
help.
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Earlier development in health insurance
▪ The government in 1800 to 1900 did not take any initiative in
terms of government-provided health insurance for the public.
▪ The countries first health insurance was introduced by AALL in
1915.
▪ The bill covered only the working-class population and the
population whose annual income was below 1200 US dollars
(Wegerer, 2014).
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Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) efforts of Universal health
coverage
▪ In his early effort, FDR introduced health insurance for all in his
social security bill in the year 1935. However American medical
association opposition to the bill resulted in the expulsion of
health insurance from the social security bill.
▪ As a form of compulsory health insurance Wagner-Murray-
Dingell Bill was introduced, however, the bill was never
approved (Kendall Sr, 2014).
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3. Medicare and Medicaid

Medicare and Medicaid
▪ Medicare was first introduced in the form
of law in 1965.
▪ In 1972 Medicare was further available
for people with a terminal illness,
disability and peoples aged 65 years or
above.
▪ The image represents the percentage of
beneficiaries in the year of 2013 by the
Medicaid program. 10
Source
:https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0094_spending_medicaid_beneficiari
es

▪ The popularity of Medicare along with
its need among the American people
could assed by the bar graph , which
represents a continuous increase in the
enrolment in Medicare for the period
of 1966 to 2013.
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Medicare
Source: https://www.kff.org/medicare/slide/medicare-enrollment-1966-
2013/

4. Affordable Care Act 2010