title: The widening U.S. health care crisis three years after the passage of 'Obamacare'.
abstract: This report presents information on the state of the U.S. health system in 2012 and early 2013, specifically the period prior to the implementation of the individual mandate and full rollout of the Affordable Care Act's online health exchanges. The authors include data on the uninsured and underinsured and their access to health care, on socioeconomic inequality in health care, the rising costs of the U.S. health system, and the role of corporate money in health care, with special reference to the pharmaceutical industry. They also provide updates on Medicare health maintenance organizations, Medicaid, and a prelude to the complete implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In addition, the authors include some results from public opinion polls on health systems and international system comparisons. The article concludes with an assessment of the rapid consolidation in the delivery of health care being driven by the Affordable Care Act.
authors.forename: Birju
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hellander
mesh_terms: D060866:Accountable Care Organizations / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005544:Forecasting; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000639:trends*; D062265:Health Insurance Exchanges / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D011639:Public Opinion; D014481:United States