the first major piece of healthcare related legislation of the 21st century

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In 2010, President Barak Obama and the members of Congress passed the first major piece of healthcare related legislation of the 21^st century.  The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was created in response to millions of Americans being unable to pay for the healthcare which they so drastically needed.  This act was passed to help the everyday citizen pay for and access proper healthcare.  Despite all the good intentions which went into creating the ACA, healthcare has not changed for the better.  As of 2014, premium prices have increased an average $163 dollars from the prior year, spending on name brand prescriptions grew $45 dollars despite a decrease in their use by roughly 16%, and the average cost for medical services rose while the use of those services decreased (Health Care Cost Institute, 2015).  With this new data in hand it is clear that the ACA is not having the desire affect.  If these costs continue to grow at this rate it is going to become so expensive that only the top 1% is going to be able to afford it.  Increasing wealth inequality, declining wages, and disappearing jobs are all contributing to a healthcare system that is not sustainable.  The Health Care Costs Institute (HCCI), which tracks healthcare information described in their annual report (2014) that healthcare is quickly becoming a luxury that people are no longer able to use as evidenced by the drop in use services from 2013 to 2014.  I cannot begin to even fathom what healthcare will look like 30 years from now, but I will be honest and say that it scares me to think about. In 2010, President Barak Obama and the members of Congress passed the first major piece of healthcare related legislation of the 21st century.  The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was created in response to millions of Americans being unable to pay for the healthcare which they so drastically needed.  This act was passed to help the everyday citizen pay for and access proper healthcare.  Despite all the good intentions which went into creating the ACA, healthcare has not changed for the better.  As of 2014, premium prices have increased an average $163 dollars from the prior year, spending on name brand prescriptions grew $45 dollars despite a decrease in their use by roughly 16%, and the average cost for medical services rose while the use of those services decreased (Health Care Cost Institute, 2015).  With this new data in hand it is clear that the ACA is not having the desire affect.  If these costs continue to grow at this rate it is going to become so expensive that only the top 1% is going to be able to afford it.  Increasing wealth inequality, declining wages, and disappearing jobs are all contributing to a healthcare system that is not sustainable.  The Health Care Costs Institute (HCCI), which tracks healthcare information described in their annual report (2014) that healthcare is quickly becoming a luxury that people are no longer able to use as evidenced by the drop in use services from 2013 to 2014.  I cannot begin to even fathom what healthcare will look like 30 years from now, but I will be honest and say that it scares me to think about. 

One of the things that prompted healthcare reform was insurance companies reporting record profits for their shareholders while common citizens were 

One of the things that prompted healthcare reform was insurance companies reporting record profits for their shareholders while common citizens wereown costs and prevent insurance companies from “cherry picking” their clients.  This is a methodology which allows companies to deny individuals coverage on the chances that the insurance company may end up having to pay for needed care (Kemble, 2012).  By denying patients with pre-existing conditions insurance companies made money by only giving coverage the patients who were low risk for needing costly healthcare.  To drive down costs, the ACA created a market where consumers could pick and choose their healthcare in regards to the cost and what they felt they needed.  The hope was that competition in the marketplace would decrease costs through competition, however, this did not happen. Instead, insurance companies simply created multi-tiered plans which provided only minimal services and poor prescription coverage.  As the plans grow in price, the insurance companies add back in the services people need.  Some of the plans only allow 2 PCP visits per year and one of those is for a yearly physical.  It is clear that the ACA was designed to help bring costs down, but the insurance companies were given too much freedom to manipulate their plans and seek out ways to nickel and dime the common citizen.