Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Fitzgerald, Keith

Keywords

Health Care, President Obama, Affordable Care Act

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

This thesis sets out to analyze the states' role in implementing health care reform in the United States. Many may believe that the Affordable Care Act is a federal takeover of health care, but the states will actually be implementing most of the provisions and managing reforms. Through the expansion of Medicaid, the creation of a State Exchange, and the reform of the insurance industry, states will play a vital role in the reform process. Various states have resisted the Affordable Care Act by claiming that it is unconstitutional or that it places a monumental financial burden on the states. However, while analyzing both of these claims it seems that they are unfounded, and mainly used as a political tool against the Act. Thus, it is important to look into why some states are moving forward with implementation, and some have largely refused to implement any reforms. The question that looms is whether the states are refusing only for political reasons or could other factors be playing a large role as well? It seems that larger states may be influenced by the politics behind health care reform, while smaller states are influenced not by political factors, but instead by what is best for the state. The needs of a smaller state seem to triumph in the political landscape of that state. To conclude, states must be aware of what needs to be accomplished in order for reform to be successful, as success largely rests in the hands of state leaders. States will need to build their administrative capacity, fiscal capacity, and physician capacity in order to effectively reform their health care systems. State actions with regard to the Affordable Care Act will play a vital role in the health care debate and ultimately, shape the country's response to an unsustainable health care system.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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