The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires that U.S. citizens and legal residents obtain qualifying health coverage. Write a report of 2,000–2,500 words that explores the individual mandate section of the new health reform law. Complete the following:

• Explain the individual mandate included in the PPACA, and include the tax penalties that will be imposed if a person or family does not obtain qualifying health coverage.
• Who will qualify, and what premium and cost-sharing subsidies will be available to individuals?
• Research the income levels of individuals in your state by reviewing information available on this Web site. How do you think the individual mandate will affect the citizens and legal residents in your state?
• If you were required to make one policy change or enhancement to ensure success of the individual mandate included in the PPACA, what would you recommend?
• Assess the historical relationship between the cost of health care and outcomes in the United States with the cost of health care and outcomes in another country. What policies could be considered to assist in changing the relationship between costs and outcomes to a more efficient relationship in the United States, if at all?

Note: Your report should use APA formatting, and you must include 4 references, 2 of which are peer-reviewed sources from health care journals.

Reference

United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/