HEALTHCARE POLICIES IN CHINA AND THE U.S.
5 | P a g e
condition like heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, or for that matter pregnancy or even something
as ridiculous as acne.”
The U.S. health care system prior to March 23, 2010 was discriminatory against American’s with
pre-existing conditions, any condition that plagued someone was not covered by health care
insurance until one year after they were paying insurance premiums. These statistics translate
into almost ½ of all Americans being either underinsured or uninsured prior to the ACA.
Prior to March 2010 the United States had an Employer- Based Health Insurance system
that was created by government control. This limited health care system created a very limited
pool of insurances that an employee could choose from as well as forced them to terminate their
insurance plans upon separation with an employer. However, there was an option to keep
insurance through COBRA but this proved to be too expensive for most Americans and left them
uninsured. These issues put health insurance companies in control of the industry and allowed
them to charge expensive premiums with no reasonably priced alternatives for Americans.
“The Affordable Care Act’s focus is on providing more Americans with access to
affordable health insurance, improving the quality of health care and health insurance, regulating
the health insurance industry, and reducing health care spending in the US. The law
contains hundreds of different provisions that address different aspects of “the healthcare crisis”
in the US. (www.obamacarefacts.com)
Since the ACA was enacted “16.4 million people have gained health care coverage in the United
States, young adults can stay on their parent’s health care insurance until the age of 26 and there
have also been Medicaid Expansions.” (www.HHS.GOV) This alone enables millions of
Americans that were once uninsured to have access to quality health care. The ACA has also
