Health Reform Essay for Concepts in Health Admin Graduate Course

With the 2010 passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), health care leaders are facing increased pressure to meet the demands of the reform. The implementation of the ACA expanded healthcare coverage to millions of Americans. This expansion of coverage meant that health care facilities needed to be equipped with enough workers to meet the large number of patients who would now be seeking medical care. However, prior to the ACA, the health care force was already facing a shortage of providers, such as physicians and nurses (Anderson, 2014). So, while health care reform was necessary, it came at a time when health care systems were already in a fragile place. In order for health care institutions to meet the challenges of the ACA and be successful in today’s society, it is imperative that they are equipped with administrators and leaders who “…have diverse skills and a different intellectual approach, as well as creativity, adaptability, and flexibility” (Cicatiello, 2000, p. 21). Prior to the implementation of the ACA, barriers to health insurance left approximately 47 million Americans uninsured (Garfield et al., 2014). At that time, quality health insurance was very costly. Many Americans were too poor to afford health insurance, but made too much to qualify for Medicaid. Additionally, many of America’s largest companies did not offer health benefits to their employees, even if they worked full time. Other complications during this time included a gap in the Medicaid part D prescription drug “donut hole.” This left many of the elderly unable to afford their medications, which meant that much of this population were not able to follow their doctor’s regimen. In terms of technology during this time, there were very minimal advancements like the ones we have today. Because of