Affordable Care Reform

There have been numerous failed attempts to reform the United States healthcare system over the years. However, the most recent attempt that has been implemented is the Affordable Care Act, under the Obama Administration. As a result, since 2010 changes have been implemented to reform the United States healthcare industry, which affects the insurers, providers, and the subscribers in different ways. Consequently, the Affordable Care Act does not have full support from everyone and it faces numerous challenges (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2012). Overall, it is estimated that 2.6 trillion dollars is spent on healthcare in the United States each year (Van Gorder & Topol, 2012). Therefore, it is essential to acknowledge the inflation in healthcare
Therefore, there are a variety of HMOs available, which reimburse physicians in different ways, such as salary, per diem, or capitation payments (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2012). In addition, HMOs are considered a form of managed care, which was thought to reduce the costs of care (Bodenheimer &Grumbach, 2012). However, HMOs are not as important in the healthcare market today versus two decades ago (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2012). Overall, it seems that the healthcare industry is fading out HMOs and second-guessing whether or not HMOs can control healthcare
However, there are numerous debates for and against the new changes to the healthcare industry. To be honest, I am unsure about where I tend to stand regarding the new healthcare industry changes. As a result, it seems that the healthcare costs are still going to be expensive for majority of Americans and it could be years before we determine if the changes implemented are effective. Consequently, the focus of the changes on preventive care, chronic disease management, quality of care, and reducing costs there has been a reduction in specialty care for individuals with chronic diseases and elderly patients with several comorbidities (Kuramoto, 2014). Therefore, future challenges can occur if there is no focus on specialty care due to the growing population of the elderly and/or high-risk patient profiles (Kuramoto, 2014). Overall, if some focus is set on specialty care for the high costs expenditures then clinical and costs outcomes can improve (Kuramoto, 2014). Furthermore, with focus on specialty care as well as preventive measures then the amount of hospital admissions will decrease, the readmission rate will lower, and it will lower unnecessary treatment protocols from primary care providers (Kuramoto, 2014). In addition, if Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance companies decide to lower the reimbursement rates too low then a