About the Affordable Care Act, Essay Example

The Affordable Care Act is providing millions of Americans access to reliable, high quality medical care, while advancing programs to hold costs in check.  Benefits of the law include: insurance subsidies for consumers; transparent Exchanges to shop for insurance; new rules protecting consumers from insurance abuses; increased Medicare payments for physicians; and more.  Most important benefit is that Insurance companies can no longer set lifetime limits or unreasonable annual limits on the dollar value of benefits.  This is important for Americans with health conditions that require expensive medications and treatments. Lifetime caps are now prohibited effective 2010. And, all annual limits will be completely banned by 2014. I believe that all patients should receive proper care within reason. Patients who will likely benefit from the services provided by physical therapist and occupational therapists, should receive the services. However, the problem becomes who will decide if the patient will benefit from the services. Essentially, the patients’ parents are always going to advocate that their loved one needs the services. So, to ensure that all patients receive proper care, rules and regulations must be in place to determine if the patient will benefit from the services. For example, “For people with cerebral palsy, physical therapy to maintain muscle mass is one possibility. For multiple sclerosis patients, there may be more approval for treatments for spasticity and gait training to prevent falls” (Bernal et, al, 2007).  In cases where the patient has the potential for improvement from therapy, the patient should receive it. In some cases, doctors do not prescribe certain therapies because they know that Medicare will not pay for the services. Yet, there has been research that suggests that physical therapy does slow the progression of cerebral palsy and other degenerative disease.  Had I been able to lobby, I would have included care for those who are suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. These victims have no insurance and are unable to get help for their disease.