As many of us have witnessed in our practice, many patients struggle to pay for

As many of us have witnessed in our practice, many patients struggle to pay for healthcare and medications. While working in the ICU this week, I had a patient ready for discharge to a rehabilitation facility. Despite being accepted to the facility and having insurance, the patient had a bill that needed to be paid before entering the rehab. Affordable health care has been on the presidential agenda for many terms.
In the United States healthcare, those of higher income could afford adequate healthcare and access to required medications. As such, several social determinants affect this health issue. Moore (2018) discussed that those of limited funds would be most affected by the market-driven healthcare system. People of higher age, disabled, and unemployed are those who suffer in this health issue.
Barack Obama addressed this issue by signing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law in 2010. The Obama Foundation (n.d.) claims the Affordable Care Act has given healthcare to over 40 million people. Along with supplying health insurance at a lower cost, the ACA also stopped up to 133 million people from losing insurance to pre-existing conditions. Obama claimed the Affordable Care Act was a first step and has continued to work closely with President Biden.
The White House (n.d.) lists healthcare as one of several immediate priorities on the presidential agenda. The Biden-Harris administration plans to expand on the Affordable Care Act amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the administration is to make the healthcare system more user-friendly and reduce healthcare costs.
While the steps taken by President Obama and Biden are a step in the right direction, there is still a long way to go to fix our healthcare system. While the Affordable Care Act supplied millions with insurance, many fell through gaps or paid steep prices for family coverage. In my opinion, the administration should maintain its focus on reducing the cost of healthcare in America.
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