Health Care has been booming in 21st century America, and that trend has received an added boost in recent years with the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, or as it’s more commonly known – ObamaCare. Despite the fact that ObamaCare has drawn the ire from certain quarters of the nation’s populace, the benefits brought in from this piece of legislature’s introduction are undeniable. 2014 onwards ObamaCare has beenimplemented at full tilt,and this means health professionals across the country have had to keep up with a substantial increase in volume in this field.
First, let’s Take a Little Recap…
According to the Affordable Care Act, every citizen, barring a few exceptions (available at the Federal Health Care website) will compulsorily have to own what is termed as ‘minimum essential coverage’ in terms of health insurance, or face the prospect of a penalty which will be included in their next round of taxes.
The Effect it will have on the Insurance Industry…
The implementation of this Act means the ramifications are far reaching for all parties involved in the healthcare industry.Insurance firms, despite the introduction of subsidies, will see an increase in demand off the back of this law. Everyone involved in the insurance industry, from companies that provide insurance, to brokers who deal in the actual sale of insurance are likely to be affected.
For Mainstream Medical Professionals…
More people covered by insurance will proactively approach the country’s medical facilities and seek medical attention on a more regular basis than when they normally would have, if they didn’t have theprotection of health insurance to support them. The doctors, nurses, and other medical staff working out of hospitals and medical dispensaries then will see a lot more footfall, that much is a given, but the introduction of the singular piece legislature will affect others who while not at the frontline of medical operations are still involved in the industry.
An upswing in the Demand for Auxiliary Medical Careers…
ObamaCare will also cause an upswing in demand for auxiliary medical careers. Careers that while well within the ambit of the healthcare industry and aren’t what you would call ‘mainstream’, will be beneficiaries too then. For example, careers like radiology technicians who take care of X-Rays and CAT scans, orphysical therapy assistants who provide support for physiotherapists and help patients through the motions of the exercises implemented by the physios. Transcriptionists who turn audio recordings created by consulting doctors into standard, typed out medical records also fall into this category.
Take even medical billing and coding for example. Medical coders and billersprocess the payments of medical procedures, and apply a pre-set built of codes to make sure that insurance firms and medicare or Medicaid as applicable can cover medical expenses. In fact, this occupation is in a bit of transition, because as Career Step explains here, the codes are being altered to become more standardized, and some players in the industry attribute this transition, in a small measure, to the introduction of ObamaCare. Let us not forget pharmaceutical companies either. Medicine manufacturers too will be similarly impacted due to Affordable Care.
It is an exciting time to be a part of a medical industry in then, and for those who are looking to venture into professional life, maybe becoming a physio’s assistant or exploring medical coding and billing trainingcould actually be something to ponder. Regardless, ObamaCare has caused changes whose effects will be felt in a wider blast radius than the citizenry, insurance firms, and primary medical professionals in the United States as well.
