The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 together make up health care reform in the United States.
Like it or not, it is more simply known as ObamaCare.
Let's not discuss the constitutional legality of the laws nor the financial exposure we'll have as individuals and nationally in the coming years, rather I thought I'd entertain by predicting what we should expect in the future.

1. Improved access to health care will be realized by the uninsured and under insured while access for the majority of Americans will be diminished.
   The increased patient demand for generalist and specialist care will be obstructed by physician supply issues.
   For most of us, lines for health care access will get much longer.
   
2. The private practice physician will be seen as an obsolete, non-profitable model that will be replaced by hospital-owned facilities.
   While this is already seen in certain specialties, the trend will expand in the next few years.
   
3. Treatment guidelines will be more progressively tested and adopted regionally and nationally, especially for chronic diseases.
   Patients should expect fewer treatment options and increased therapy restrictions, especially in latter lines and diminishing performance status groups.
   
4. Greater focus will be placed on personalized medicine and genetic testing.
   Although much promise may be realized in these more specific markets, private health care investment will be reduced as market opportunities shrink.
   Innovation and advancement is expected to greatly suffer.
   
5. Death rates will temporary reverse and life expectancy will decrease.
   Even though this may be a short-term phenomenon, it is the new reality of our healthcare system.
   See also #1, #2, #3 and #4.
   

Here are some interesting bits of information to go along with my predictions:

• In 1993, as a result of Washington's discussions on ClintonCare, there was a predictable increase in the popularity of "capitated" health care plans.
  Enrollment peaked to approximately 85 million by 1999 although its attractiveness has since waned to around 65 million today.
  The name might have changed, but the public bitterness toward being perceived as a healthcare provider's liability remains.
  Rationed health care caused death rates to numerically increase in 1993 although there weren't any known variables that might have caused this phenomenon (like aging population due to Baby Boomer Generation) Perhaps, the resulting decrease in services due to "capitated" health care caused this temporary blip.
  
• It is widely published that every 12 minutes someone dies in America due to lack of health care insurance.
  This got me to think about other figures that are not often discussed.
  There are approximately 250,000 Americans who die from having health insurance from medical/medicine errors, hospital infections, unnecessary surgery, prescription drug reactions, etc.
  Six (6) people with health insurance die earlier than would be expected otherwise every 12 minutes.
  Shocked? If my figures are correct, it is the 3rd leading cause of death in America behind heart disease and cancer.
  My armchair statistical model estimates that people with insurance are 20% more likely to die than people without health insurance.
  
• According to the CDC's most recent life expectancy tables, Hispanic Americans born in 2006 are expected to live 80.
  6 years as compared to non-Hispanic whites 78.
  1 years and non-Hispanic blacks 72.
  9 years.
  Interestingly, the 2 ½ years of greater life expectancy in Hispanic Americans vs.
  non-Hispanic whites is not due to health insurance since it is believed that Hispanics have a 3 times greater likelihood of being uninsured than the general population.
  

We should all have access to affordable health care; unfortunately, the methods we are being forced to adopt will not solve our issue.
I fear that we will continue to avoid the real health care reform measures that have been woefully ignored for too many years.
Washington seems to be fearful to attack these entitlements and we will continue to placate to the lowest common denominator.
By the way, after my research, I think it might be best to be uninsured - I will probably live longer.