Provide background for the issues:  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a plan designed to provide health insurance to everyone.  This bill could have significant negative consequences on the medical field.  Health care can change significantly from how we know it today, and some effects could lower the level of care people receive.

Summarize the purpose of your project and how you will accomplish it: This paper will examine the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its effects on the medical field.  I will identify aspects of the bill that can be detrimental to the medical field and examine their effect on patient care.  I will also research data on the impacts of the first components of the bill that have been passed.

Include a “working title:” Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Can it Cause a Negative Impact on the Medical Field?

Indicate questions to be answered:

Key Question: What impact can the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have on the medical field and the medical care we are accustomed to?

Sub-Questions: Will hospitals suffer from overcrowding if more people have health insurance?  Will more health care professionals need to be hired? Will health care professionals receive the same wages?  Will expanded Medicaid eligibility encourage people to take advantage of medical services? Have any negative consequences been observed since the first components of the bill have passed?  Do other countries with a similar system suffer any consequences?

Health Section, (2010).  Legislative Analyst's Office.  The patient protection and affordable care act: an overview of its potential impact on state health programs. Retrieved from: http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2010/hlth/fed_healthcare/fed_healthcare_051310.pdf

Foster, R.S., (2010). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Estimated financial effects of "patient protection and affordable care act" as amended.  Retrieved from: https://www.cms.gov/ActuarialStudies/downloads/PPACA_2010-04-22.pdf

I am interested in health care reform plans because I plan on becoming a doctor and I want to know how medical care will be affected. The plans could cause significant change to the medical field as a whole, and all United States citizens will be affected.  I want to know if the reform plans will prove to be beneficial or negative to the people of America.  How might the health care reform bill affect the average, middle class American?


In response to this question, I could broaden the topic to include questions such as:

How will the health care reform bill affect the overall economy of the United States?

What impact will health care reform have on the medial field as a whole?

Also, I can narrow this topic to include questions such as:

How will government interaction affect the level of care that patients receive in Emergency Rooms?

What affect will the health care reform bill have on a patient’s current preferred network of doctors?

How will the health care reform bill affect the taxes of middle-class people in the next ten years?

After contemplating the changes taking place in the medical field, I am interested to learn more about physicians, health insurance, and the government, and what affect the health care reform plan has on each.  I am especially interested in this subject area because I plan to become a doctor.  I want to know how these modifications will affect me as well as my future career.  I find this topic interesting because even slight changes in the medical field could affect millions of people.  Understanding what role the government plays in health care interests me because certain aspects of health care such as salaries, insurance, and patient care could soon be in the hands of government officials. I believe that the future of healthcare is at stake, and all healthcare professionals, as well as citizens with and without health insurance, would be very interested in learning about the dramatic changes taking place. 

This semester I would be very interested to research information about the changes taking place in the medical field.  I know that some aspects of the medical field change quite frequently and these changes have the potential to affect the future of medical care.  With a new plan for nationwide free health care, all US citizens will be provided with health care regardless of their social standing.  However, the future for doctors, nurses, and other individuals employed in the medical field is uncertain.  How will a health care reform plan affect the salaries of health care professionals? Furthermore, what affect will reformed health care have on preexisting health insurance? Also, will citizens expect a significant raise in taxes to cover the cost?