The PPACA is Just a Band-Aid : Healthcare Reform Cannot Be a One-Sided Solution

It is well recognized that the United States healthcare system has continuously failed to provide the American people with access to affordable quality healthcare. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranked the health systems of 191 nations, and the United States ranked only thirty-seventh in overall healthcare, despite ranking the highest in health spending. Americans spend twice as much on healthcare as residents of other developed countries, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system. Congress realized the desperate need for healthcare reform and enacted the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (PPACA) as the solution. The PPACA's major goal was to reach near universal health insurance coverage in the United States by improving access to affordable insurance coverage. In order to achieve this goal the PPACA focused primarily on regulating consumers. However, the ability of states to opt-out of Medicaid expansion, along with other limitations, caused a coverage gap that put a substantial dent in the original plan, as its success was fundamentally dependent upon every citizen obtaining some type of health insurance coverage. Due to the limitations placed on the PPACA, and the subsequent loss of almost half of the Act's originally anticipated patient population, there has been considerable volatility in the healthcare market, resulting in the further increase of insurance prices. Therefore, it is apparent that successful reform cannot be achieved by increasing insurance coverage alone. This makes it vital for Congress to consider other avenues for achieving its goal. This includes regulating those responsible for setting and controlling the costs, mainly the insurance companies, healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies, and not just regulating those left to pay those costs and subsequently punishing them when they cannot afford it. The only way to lower the total costs paid by patients is to lower the actual cost charged for care. Although there are current regulations imposed on these industries, there are many factors that contribute to the cost of healthcare that can be better regulated to ensure viable care to all citizens. It is without question that the participation of as many people as possible in the health-insurance market is an important aspect of lowering the cost of overall healthcare; however, it is also without question that it is only one of many factors that must be addressed