What is the primary goal of healthcare reform in the United States?

The comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010 (sometimes known as ACA, PPACA, or “Obamacare”).

The law has 3 primary goals:

• Make affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies (“premium tax credits”) that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the

  federal poverty level

  A measure of income issued every year by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Federal poverty levels are used to determine your eligibility for certain programs and benefits, including savings on Marketplace health insurance, and Medicaid and CHIP coverage.

  Health care remains a major theme in our national conversation. And as we approach the November 2020 election, we will hear a lot of debate about the right path forward to fix what ails our current system. It is encouraging to hear so many people—candidates, policymakers, opinion leaders and others—asking how our nation can provide the highest-quality and most affordable health care for patients.

  Related Coverage

  Physicians: The ACA should be strengthened, not abandoned

  The AMA strongly believes that every American should have access to meaningful, affordable coverage. We also believe we need to build on our current system of coverage provided by employers, government, and individually selected plans so that patients can benefit from choice and competition. This fits with our long-standing policies of pluralism, freedom of both choice and practice, and universal access for patients.

  Preserving the ability of patients to choose the health plan that best fits their needs must be a priority. Also, retaining variety in the potential payer mix for providers while reforming payment and delivery processes is an essential element in fully covering the costs of care and ensuring practice sustainability.

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  Improving upon the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not upend the model of employer-based health coverage, which has been the predominant form of U.S. medical insurance for the nonelderly population for many decades. In short, health insurance should cost less and work better for those who already have it, and should be much easier to obtain for those who don’t.

  First, do no harm

  A single-payer option is not a viable solution, because it is a one-size-fits-all approach that would ultimately reduce coverage options and eliminate patients’ freedom of choice. It also would destabilize coverage for some 150 million people with insurance, which accounts for about 20 percent of the U.S. economy.

  In determining the best way forward for the world’s largest health care system, we should recall the ethical imperative to “first, do no harm.” Fixing the imperfections of the ACA will focus primarily on extending coverage to the uninsured, not dismantling the existing coverage most Americans enjoy today.

  To make the ACA more affordable for individuals and families, the AMA is advocating to:

  • Expand eligibility for tax credit offsets to premiums to five times the federal poverty level.
  • Provide enhanced tax credit offsets to young adults while retaining the ACA’s current formula, which is inversely related to income.
  • Fix the “family glitch” while lowering the threshold that determines whether an employee’s premium cost is “affordable,” which affects subsidies to buy coverage on health insurance exchanges.
  • Support efforts at the state level to expand Medicaid eligibility to 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

  It is crucial we also take steps to correct the flaws in the ACA’s individual-market risk pool, in which younger people without chronic health concerns are often reluctant to participate. The AMA backs efforts by states to adopt individual mandates while also expanding outreach efforts to inform patients about financial incentives they can secure to purchase coverage on the exchanges.

  A permanent federal reinsurance market would further stabilize the individual market. Until such a program can be established, Section 1332 waivers for state reinsurance programs can fill the bill.

  Physicians know that people who lack health coverage live sicker and die younger. The ACA provided the pathway to extend health insurance to everyone. Now is not the time to stray from that path, but to strengthen it to ensure we reach our destination: comprehensive and affordable universal coverage for all Americans.

  Strategic Objective 1.1: Increase choice, affordability, and enrollment in high-quality healthcare coverage

  Strategic Objective 1.2: Reduce costs, improve quality of healthcare services, and ensure access to safe medical devices and drugs

  Strategic Objective 1.3: Expand equitable access to comprehensive, community-based, innovative, and culturally-competent healthcare services while addressing social determinants of health

  Strategic Objective 1.4: Drive the integration of behavioral health into the healthcare system to strengthen and expand access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment and recovery services for individuals and families

  Strategic Objective 1.5: Bolster the health workforce to ensure delivery of quality services and care

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  HHS works to protect and strengthen equitable access to high quality and affordable healthcare.  Increasing choice, affordability and enrollment in high-quality healthcare coverage is a focus of the Department’s efforts in addition to reducing costs, improving quality of healthcare services, and ensuring access to safe medical devices and drugs.  HHS also works to expand equitable access to comprehensive, community-based, innovative, and culturally- and linguistically-appropriate healthcare services while addressing social determinants of health.  The Department is driving the integration of behavioral health into the healthcare system to strengthen and expand access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment and recovery services for individuals and families.  HHS also bolsters the health workforce to ensure delivery of quality services and care. 

  In the context of HHS, this Strategic Plan adopts the definition of underserved communities listed in Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government to refer to “populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, who have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life”; this definition includes individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.  Individuals may belong to more than one underserved community and face intersecting barriers.  This definition applies to the terms underserved communities and underserved populations throughout this Strategic Plan.

  Related Executive Orders (EO) and White House Action Plans, Directives, and Memoranda:

  • EO 13175: Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments
  • EO 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government
  • EO 13988: Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation
  • EO 13994: Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats
  • EO 13995: Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery
  • EO 13996: Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 and Other Biological Threats
  • EO 13997: Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for COVID-19
  • EO 13999: Protecting Worker Health and Safety
  • EO 14001: A Sustainable Public Health Supply Chain
  • EO 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
  • EO 14009: Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act
  • EO 14017: America's Supply Chains
  • EO 14020: Establishment of the White House Gender Policy Council
  • EO 14036: Promoting Competition in the American Economy
  • Memorandum on Protecting Women’s Health at Home and Abroad
  • Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships
  • National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, January 2021
  • Path Out of the Pandemic: President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan

  Related Legislation:

  • 21st Century Cures Act
  • Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990
  • Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
  • Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA) 
  • Food and Drug Administration Act of 2007 (FDAAA) 
  • Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) 
  • FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA) 
  • Health Information and Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009
  • Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999
  • Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP” Reauthorization Act of 2015
  • Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)
  • National Research Service Awards (NRSA) 
  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010
  • Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (Patient Safety Act) of  2005 
  • Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act

  Within HHS, the following divisions are working to achieve Strategic Goal 1: Administration for Community Living (ACL), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Indian Health Service (IHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Office of Global Affairs (OGA), Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

  What is the primary goal of healthcare reform in the United States quizlet?

  The goal of healthcare reform is to provide affordable healthcare to more citizens. The Healthy People initiatives have targeted the improvement of health for all.

  What is the goal of the US healthcare system?

  Goal: Improve health care. High-quality health care helps prevent diseases and improve quality of life.

  Which of the following is a goal of health care reform quizlet?

  Cost containment, improved access, and increased quality are goals of healthcare reform.

  Why does the US need healthcare reform?

  The most important outcome of health care reform is ultimately that all American families will have affordable access to the health care services they need and the wellbeing and peace of mind that comes with that.