title: The U.S. Health Care Crisis Five Years After Passage of the Affordable Care Act: A Data Snapshot.
abstract: Despite passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the U.S. health care crisis continues. While coverage has been expanded, the reform will leave 27 million people uninsured in 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Much of the new coverage is of low actuarial value with high cost-sharing requirements, creating barriers to access. Choice of physician is restricted to narrow networks of providers. Recent measures of uninsurance, underinsurance, access to care, and health care costs are given. Changes in Medicare, particularly privatization and the rise of specialty drug tiers that limit access to medically necessary medications, are reviewed. Data on a new wave of consolidation among hospitals, medical groups, insurers, and drug companies are presented. The rise of ultra-high-price drugs, such as Solvadi, is raising pharmaceutical costs, particularly in Medicaid, the program for low-income Americans. International health comparisons continue to show the United States performing poorly in relation to other countries. Recent polling data are presented, showing support for more fundamental reform.
authors.affiliation: Physicians for a National Health Program, Chicago, IL, USA ida@pnhp.org.
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hellander
mesh_terms: D004345:Drug Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007343:Insurance Carriers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States
keywords: Medicaid; Medicare advantage; Medicare for all; affordable care act; health care costs; health care crisis; health care reform; inequality; underinsured; uninsured