Before the Affordable Care Act was implemented, women were typically charged 1.5 times more for health insurance than men (gender rating), and preexisting conditions could often be excluded from coverage. With its introduction, however, those barriers to affordable healthcare care were eliminated.
It also ensures that at least 80% of your premium dollars go toward medical services instead of overhead or bonuses to executives, and prohibited lifetime and annual limits on essential benefits.
1. More People Have Coverage
The Affordable Care Act prohibits health insurers from denying coverage or charging more because of preexisting conditions, while mandating that plans cover at least some essential benefits.
And it established a program across the country called navigators who help individuals understand their options and sign up for health insurance – nearly 31 million signed up this year!
2. More People Have Health Insurance
Since the Affordable Care Act’s implementation, more people are covered. It requires most individuals to purchase health insurance coverage; establishes new marketplaces (known as exchanges); and expands Medicaid eligibility for adults.
Premium subsidies are made available to assist individuals in purchasing private coverage, and it bans lifetime and annual dollar limits, excessive waiting periods and denial of coverage due to preexisting conditions.
3. More People Have Access to Care
In addition to expanding health insurance options for families, the Affordable Care Act strengthened consumer protections and encouraged experiments with innovative ways of improving healthcare delivery. For instance, it allows children under 26 years old to remain covered under their parents’ health insurance until age 26; furthermore, insurers cannot impose annual or lifetime limits on coverage.
Millions of individuals gained access to health insurance through marketplace financial assistance and Medicaid expansion. To assist these individuals in using their coverage effectively, RAND developed tools connecting them directly with primary care services.
4. More People Have Access to Preventive Care
One of the main objectives of the Affordable Care Act was to make preventive care more cost-effective, so this law mandates that private health insurers cover recommended preventive services without cost-sharing from the patient.
Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), insurers could charge women 1.5 times more than men for health coverage while also excluding benefits like maternity care that were essential to them. Thanks to ACA, these discriminatory practices were ended, leading to a 24 percent drop in non-elderly adults forgoing necessary healthcare due to costs.
5. More People Have Access to Mental Health Care
The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) insurance exchanges and financial assistance programs have made purchasing private health coverage much simpler for Americans, while mandating insurers cover essential benefits such as mental health care.
Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) taking effect, many women without health insurance or Medicaid were faced with barriers preventing them from seeking healthcare – cost and lack of coverage were two such barriers; now however, thanks to its implementation these have been greatly diminished.
6. More People Have Access to Preventive Care
The Affordable Care Act’s key coverage provisions include mandating that adults receive clinical preventive services without cost-sharing for free. This may include screenings for lung cancer, depression and hypertension as well as STI tests or PrEP for those at increased risk of HIV infection.
The Affordable Care Act has also helped narrow longstanding racial disparities in accessing care. Furthermore, gender rating bans were introduced and insurers cannot discriminate against those with preexisting conditions.
7. More People Have Access to Dental Care
Though the Affordable Care Act mandates dental coverage for children on Medicaid, most states do not offer comprehensive adult coverage. Without access to dental coverage, people more often visit emergency departments for oral health issues that require emergency room visits – leading to costly medical bills in turn.
Even those with dental coverage may opt out due to cost or anxiety; expanding and diversifying the dental workforce could help bridge this gap.
8. More People Have Access to Vision Care
Health care providers are increasingly focused on cutting costs while increasing quality, in part because of a shift away from volume-based payments such as Accountable Care Organizations and Bundled Payment Reforms.
Many cost-cutting measures implemented under the Affordable Care Act are still working to curb health care spending growth, yet vision care remains an obstacle for people without health insurance coverage. Thankfully, more employers now provide vision coverage as part of holistic employer-sponsored plans.
9. More People Have Access to Mental Health Care
The Affordable Care Act prohibits insurance companies from placing lifetime dollar limits on essential health benefits and requires all plans to cover mental health services, helping people avoid running out of care when their expenses reach these thresholds.
Cost remains a barrier to accessing care; many Americans struggle to locate providers who accept their insurance plans at affordable rates. By increasing reimbursement rates for mental health professionals and expanding provider networks, additional barriers could be overcome.
10. More People Have Access to Preventive Care
The Affordable Care Act has helped to slow the upward trajectory of health care costs, thanks to both its restrictions on cost increases and initiatives like accountable care organizations and bundled payments.
Additionally, the Affordable Care Act mandates insurers cover clinical preventive services without copays or deductibles, making access easier for 137 million Americans who have private health coverage to cancer, depression and high blood pressure screenings.
