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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:04 Background
1:22 Us health insurance system
2:07 patient Protection and affordable care act


Background
• Medical care was hard to get in the early years because only a few British-trained physicians came to North America.
• However, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and New York had founded the first major hospitals along with the first medical schools by the mid-eighteen century.
• But The Royal Hospital in New Orleans which was the first hospital was too expensive for many residents.
• That led to the building of a second hospital, The Charity Hospital, that would aid the people on a charitable basis.
• Throughout U.S. history and still today, many hospitals have run by religious organizations throughout the U.S tending to the illnesses of the poor.
• Many hospitals were built during the U.S. Civil War.
• The federal government and individual states began to build hospitals in each state to tend to sick and wounded soldiers.
• Public Health provision such as clean water, sanitation services, and tuberculosis control was also initiated during this time by the government.
• In 1965, the Medicare and Medicaid systems, which ensure senior citizens and people whose earnings fall under the poverty line, were enacted by President Lyndon Johnson.
• This created a large federal healthcare system that covers millions of Americans.

U.S Health Insurance System
• Patients pay monthly health insurance fees to ensure that they will be covered in case of medical care.
• Insurance providers cover thousands of patients.
• The Medicare or Medicaid insurance works the same way but on a bigger scale.
• Insurance providers generally have a network of doctors that they have agreements with since they need to be able to negotiate.
• Patients are covered for visits to doctors within that network.
• Insurance providers will usually cover services considered necessary by doctors, but often will not cover services that are considered “elective.”
• Insurance companies aim to keep their costs down while still covering necessary health care.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:
• The Obama administration attempted to address some of the issues with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
• Some major provisions of the law:
• Insurers are not allowed to refuse coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
• Minimum standards for health insurance policies were established.
• Medicaid eligibility expanded.
• Medicare underwent reforms aimed at greater efficiency.
• Individuals without employer-provided insurance are required to purchase health insurance.
• Health Exchanges were set up to offer consumers a good way to find suitable health insurance and to provide subsidies for those who need it.