The Affordable Care Act (ACA) involves formulating comprehensive healthcare laws, reforms, and amendments that help transform the hospitals and the health of the citizens. The Act ensures that the healthcare costs are affordable by the people, there is good insurance coverage, and preventative health measures are put in place to save patients. In Minnesota, the ACA is meant to provide equal healthcare services to patients, majorly focusing on those without medical coverage and who live in poverty. The initiative was started and legitimized by President Barack Obama in 2010 after many of the citizens in Minnesota could not get access to good healthcare services (Cha & Brindis, 2020).
The ACA Act focuses on setting up health insurance programs whereby citizens will be allowed to get access to the cover. The act also targets providing federal financial support to the middle class, hence being in a position to procure private insurance coverage. The impact of ACA on Minnesota is determined by analyzing the strengths and the weaknesses, such as improved healthcare services and poverty constraints.
In Minnesota, the ACA was effectively implemented in September 2010 under government law. This was done by the act of legislatures legalizing and authorizing the Minnesota insurance marketplace where people could get affordable healthcare services. The modifications in healthcare in terms of the ACA have impacted the government of Minnesota, whereby the tax incentives must be applied to healthcare products to avail favorable services.
The government subsidizes the purchase of insurance coverage from the marketplace and also has set affordability criteria and parameters for those using employer-sponsored cover. Furthermore, Minnesota had arrangements to build its healthcare insurance in exchange for affordable insurance coverage to citizens named MNsure. The establishment of MNsure has made Minnesota the leading state in America, offering affordable healthcare insurance with modernized departments.
The ACA initiative in Minnesota has brought both strengths and weaknesses to the healthcare industry. As much as the ACA is focused on boosting the healthcare system of Minnesota, some people accept it due to its benefits, while others criticize it (Zogg et al., 2019). The fact that the act has numerous advantages does not mean that everybody in the state will embrace it. The ACA, as a reform to the healthcare industry, can take a while before people can understand its significance to society. Some people may feel the initiative is meant to sabotage their deals in the healthcare industry, especially those providing private services. However, the system is generally advantageous to most Americans living in poverty.
The first strength of ACA is that many citizens in Minnesota can get access to affordable insurance coverage. The number of Americans who can access medical insurance has significantly increased since the formulation of the ACA. People have health insurance coverage that allows them to access good healthcare services. The establishment of MNsure in Minnesota has also enhanced transparency and accountability in the healthcare sector by ensuring everyone can access the hospitals irrespective of their social class.
The second strength is that the ACA has facilitated the effective management of healthcare treatments such as chronic diseases, mental health, and addictions. Before the act, people with mental health and addictions could be neglected and struggle since they could not access good medical services. Thirdly, the insurance coverage provided by the ACA prevents the holders from paying for unreasonable increments. Through this, Minnesota has managed to get good healthcare coverage to more than 80% of its population (Kimmet, 2020). Therefore, through the ACA, the healthcare services in Minnesota have been transformed.
The ACA is also associated with some weaknesses in Minnesota. Minnesotans are forced to pay higher premiums when subscribing to MNsure. Health insurance companies have many coverages, hence forcing people to pay higher premiums than expected. Another weakness is that MNsure enrollment is challenging. Many people have complained about the technical problems associated with MNsure, hence leaving out most of the people. Online enrollment is subject to delays, and it is also difficult for one to get the cover. The act has also led to the withdrawal of major sponsorship to healthcare plans in Minnesota. The employment sector is also negatively affected by the ACA as most businesses and employers have minimized the number of working hours to avoid covering employees’ healthcare programs.
The stakeholders play a crucial role in the formulation and implementation of the ACA in Minnesota. These stakeholders comprise the marketplace consumers, the healthcare providers, and the healthcare policy experts. The ACA has positively impacted the stakeholders by lowering healthcare costs and consumer protection and improving quality and efficiency (Song, J., Kim, J. N., Tomar, S., & Wong, L. N., 2021). The advanced practices extended by the act through MNsure have ensured that Nurses are in a better position to deliver quality services by enabling them to have a good working environment.
The ACA has extended healthcare insurance coverage to many citizens. Many Americans can purchase insurance coverage at an affordable price with minimal subscriptions (Song et al., 2021). Some of the consumers in Minnesota suggested that the healthcare coverage provided by the MNsure in partnership with the ACA should be extended in future years as this will significantly help mitigate the healthcare challenges. Minnesota has made a milestone in improving healthcare services by initiating the ACA in its public health programs.
Conclusively, the implementation of the ACA in Minnesota has contributed to the transformation of the healthcare industry. Among the ACA’s strengths is that poor people can easily access healthcare services via MNsure, which is much more affordable. The new Act has an impact on the patients, the healthcare providers, and healthcare policy experts by reducing medical costs for the patients. However, the MNsure program becomes a burden to some consumers due to unreasonable increments in the subscriptions.
References
Cha, P., & Brindis, C. D. (2020). Early Affordable Care Act Medicaid: Coverage effects for low- and moderate-income young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 67(3), 425–431. Web.
Kimmet, H. (2020). Disability access to sexual & reproductive health care post-affordable care act (ACA) in Minnesota & the U.S. Web.
Song, J., Kim, J. N., Tomar, S., & Wong, L. N. (2021). The impact of the Affordable Care Act on dental care: An integrative literature review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(15). Web.
Zogg, C. K., Scott, J. W., Bhulani, N., Gluck, A. R., Curfman, G. D., Davis, K. A., Dimick, J. B., & Haider, A. H. (2019). Impact of Affordable Care Act insurance expansion on pre-hospital access to care: Changes in adult perforated appendix admission rates after Medicaid expansion and the dependent coverage provision. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 228(1), 29-43.e1. Web.