Evolution of Health Care: From 2007 to Today
The health care industry is far different from when CEO Jeff Pitta started our parent company, Continental Health Alliance, in 2007. Immediately following the company’s inception, Barack Obama and his health care plans entered The White House. The ACA completely changed modern health care, and today it’s hard to tell what may happen next. It’s easier to see the changes since 2007 and how they’ve affected us all when we break it down chronologically. This is our outline of the evolution of health care from 2007 to today:
2007 – Continental Health Alliance begins in Nashville, TN
CHA (now SMA/Senior Market Advisors), is the brainchild of CEO Jeff Pitta. He saw a hole in the health care industry where insurance agents were individual salesmen who didn’t know how to run their own businesses. He wanted his field marketing organization to be more about business development and “serving the underserved” than making a profit. SMA was truly developed by agents for agents. We have a business-to-business model, but we aim to serve both underserved agents and underserved consumers. Our agents are trained to work towards improving health care for consumers, not getting rich quick (although our model allows us to dish out good compensation).
2008 – Barack Obama is elected President
Obama discussed his ideas for universal health care all throughout his campaign. He planned to require all big businesses to provide health care to employees, offer tax credits to small businesses who did, and expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage. His goal was to make sure everyone had coverage, which was clearly not one of his opposing candidate Senator John McCain’s plans. In many ways, McCain’s plans were the opposite of Obama’s. McCain wanted to reduce employee involvement in health care, reduce Medicaid coverage, and not require anyone to have coverage. Health Care reform was a big part of the 2008 election, thus beginning the great evolution of health care.
2010 – President Obama signs the ACA
Much unlike what President Trump is trying to do today, Obama took baby steps in enacting the ACA. The first section in 2010 gave tax credits to small businesses who provided health care coverage and gave rebates to Medicare eligibles and seniors who fell into the donut hole – all things that Obama discussed leading up to the 2008 election. In the same year, he prevented carriers from letting preexisting conditions stop kids from getting coverage. He also started allowing kids to stay on their parent’s plans until age 26 and preventing carriers from dropping clients who developed a chronic illness.
2011 – 80/20 Rule enacted; grants provided to employers
As of 2011, insurance companies are required to spend at least 80% of premiums on medical care. Only 20% can be used for administrative purposes. The rule forces carriers to use their client’s money for the service that they are paying for, but it also provides an incentive for carriers to raise prices so that the 20% administrative portion is higher. 2011 also brought free preventative care for Medicare clients and grants for employee health programs.
2012 – Accountable Care Organizations introduced; Obama re-elected
Accountable Care Organizations began in early 2012 as a way to reduce unnecessary medical costs and group doctors together. A few months later, an added provision required all health programs to report race, ethnicity, and language patient information to promote transparency. Additionally, at the end of 2012, new safety measures allowed for electronic recordkeeping.
Ironically, President Obama’s opposition in the 2012 election was Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Obama’s ACA was very similar to the state health care plan that Massachusetts already had in place. During the election, Romney repeatedly stated that his Presidency would mark an end to Obamacare. Romney argued that his Massachusetts plan worked on the state level, but it may not work if federalized. He knew that his plan raised premiums and would not work everywhere. His goal was to take the Massachusetts model and allow the other 49 individual states to create their own similar plan. Essentially, Romney’s plan would make health care a state issue.
2013 – Medicaid introduces coverage for preventative health care
In 2013, Obama shifted his focus to Medicaid, something he had planned for since his initial election in 2008. The 2013 law included extra Medicaid funding for preventative care purposes. January also introduced a flat-fee program in the hopes of improving care quality. The end of 2013 brought two more years of coverage for children who would not be eligible for Medicare but still needed funding (CHIP).
2014 – Affordable Insurance Exchanges introduced
2014’s update essentially introduced a choice of coverage for those whose needs didn’t align with their employer’s plan. It also allowed those whose employers didn’t provide insurance to purchase it on their own. Additionally, the update expanded Medicaid access and introduced tax credits to help the middle class afford coverage. In an effort to end discrimination, 2014’s update also prevents carriers from not selling plans based on gender, health, or pre-existing conditions. Additionally, as of 2014, nonprofits are eligible for tax credits and small business tax credits are higher.
2015 – Physician costs related to quality of care
As of 2015, physicians cannot change costs based on care quality.
2016 – ACA faces much ridicule during the election; President Trump is elected along with his plans to “redo” the ACA.
Trump announced his plans to keep two of the more popular provisions from Obamacare – kids can stay on their parent’s plans until age 26, and those with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied insurance. However, there is a lot that Trump wants to change (and has not been able to yet). Trump wants to remove penalty fees for individuals who don’t purchase insurance and for companies that do not offer it. He also wants to stop requiring the wealthy to pay Medicare taxes, reduce tax credits (and stop women from using them for abortions to match his funding extermination from Planned Parenthood), allow everyone to have health savings accounts, stop requiring that carriers provide essential health benefits, raise premium limits, and begin to phase out Medicare expansion.
2017 – In progress.
On May 4th, Congress passed the American Health Care Act. The goal of the act is to bring lower costs, more coverage choices, universal access, and bring control back to the patients. Naturally, there is serious controversy surrounding the act as it brings back the insurer’s ability to raise costs for those with preexisting conditions. The bill still has to pass through the Senate before it can move to President Trump’s desk and become law. House Speaker Paul Ryan suggested that there are more additions to come.
We’re just as anxious for answers as you are.
