For the first time in U.S. history, every American will have access to quality, affordable health care under updated health insurance reform legislation passed by Room. “The Affordable Health Care for America Act, or H.R. 3962, merges and updates the three versions of previous bills passed by House committees.” (Kruger, M. 2010) This bill is expected to alleviate runaway costs of health insurance, will introduce competition into the health care market that will help maintain the affordability of coverage, protect choices of doctors and health plans, and ensure all Americans have access to quality health care , consistent and convenient. The Association of American Medical Colleges said in a March 21, 2010 article; "We have taken the first step toward truly transforming health care in this country. This historic vote by the House of Representatives sets in motion long-overdue efforts to cover 32 million uninsured Americans and ensure they have access to care high-quality medical schools and teaching hospitals have expressed their full support of this bill to President Obama, and now stand ready to work with the administration and Congress to make these significant changes to our delivery system. of health care.” (AAMC, 2010) The health care reform bill creates shared responsibility for health care among individuals, employers, and the government to ensure that all Americans have affordable, essential health care benefits. affordable. Two of the key, and perhaps most debated or criticized, components of the Affordable Health Care for America Act include individual mandates and health insurance exchange subsidy programs. Do individual health insurance mandates under n...... half of the document ...... need to report those who fail to comply? Social workers in a healthcare setting will be affected more drastically than others. They will face some changes in the health care delivery system; things like; shortages of doctors and nurses, changes in payment options and follow-up care, etc. While it may seem simpler because presumably everyone will have insurance, but what plan do they have, what does it cover, is it current and more. Other issues that will concern social workers are that, as the insured population grows, there will be available beds in nursing facilities and hospitals, services, and timely availability of appointments for follow-up care. There will also be changes to Medicare and other programs that will affect the field of social work. Helping with signing up for and maintaining insurance will also be a concern.