Full Answer Section

Reform Actions by the U.S. Government

The U.S. government has taken a number of reform actions to reduce the ethical concerns and problems associated with ESI. These actions include:

• The Affordable Care Act (ACA): The ACA, also known as Obamacare, expanded health insurance coverage to millions of Americans by providing subsidies to help people purchase health insurance on the individual market and by expanding Medicaid eligibility. The ACA also prohibits ESI plans from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions.
• The Health Insurance Marketplace (HIM): The HIM is a government-run marketplace where people can shop for and purchase health insurance plans. The HIM offers subsidies to help people afford health insurance, and it also offers a variety of plans to choose from.
• Medicaid expansion: Medicaid is a joint federal-state health insurance program for low-income individuals and families. The ACA expanded Medicaid eligibility to include all adults with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level. This expansion has provided health insurance coverage to millions of low-income Americans.

The Ethical Principle of Justice and the U.S. Health Care System

The ethical principle of justice holds that people should be treated fairly and equitably. In the context of healthcare, this means that everyone should have access to the healthcare they need, regardless of their income, employment status, or health status.

The U.S. health care system is not perfectly just. There are disparities in access to healthcare and in the quality of healthcare received by different groups of people. However, the U.S. government has taken a number of steps to promote justice in the healthcare system, such as expanding health insurance coverage through the ACA and Medicaid expansion.

Despite these efforts, there is still more work to be done to achieve a truly just healthcare system in the United States. For example, the United States is the only developed country in the world that does not have universal health insurance coverage. This means that there are millions of Americans who do not have access to the healthcare they need, simply because they cannot afford it.

The ethical principle of justice demands that the United States take further steps to ensure that everyone has access to the healthcare they need. This could include expanding health insurance coverage through universal healthcare or by making it easier for people to purchase affordable health insurance on the individual market.