Analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 Essa

Introduction In 2010, the United States took the first tangible step toward universal health care coverage, with the legalization of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent report the total population of the United States is nearly 309 million people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). In 2009, it was estimated 49 % of the population was covered under an employer sponsored insurance plan (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2009). The same 2009 data reported an additional 29 % of the population was covered under some form of government or public program (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2009). Leaving 17 % of the U.S. population vulnerable without any form of health insurance coverage (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2009). It is this minority that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will protect. Politicians speak of the nearly 50 million uninsured Americans in generalities but who are these at-risk people; the answer is a complex one (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011). To begin with the 80 % of the uninsured are U.S. citizens (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011). It is estimated that 60% of the non-elderly uninsured have one or more full-time workers in the household and in a family of four the estimated family income is less than $22,050 per year (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011). If categorized by age the largest portion of the nonelderly uninsured, according to studies, is the young adult cohort (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011). Access One of the chief objectives of the new legislation is to provide insurance coverage for all citizens ensuring access to medical care for all and this begins with expanding the coverage for the young adult ... ...mmission on Medicade and the Uninsured: http://www.kff.org/uninsured/1420.cfm OpenCongress. (n.d.). Health Care Bill - H.R.3590: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress. Retrieved October 31, 2011, from Open Congress for the 112th United States Congress: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3590/show Sherman, P., Moscou, S., & Dang-Vu, C. (2009). The primary care crisis and health care reform. Journal of Health Care for the Poor & Underserved , 20 (4), 944-950. Starfield, B., Shi, L., & Macinko, J. (2005). Contribution of primary care to health systems and health. The Milbank Quarterly , 83 (3), 457-502. U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). American Fact Finder - Resuldts. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from U.S. Census Buereau: http.//factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&prodType=table