The affordable care act was signed into law by president barack obama on march 23, 2010. It has made sweeping reforms that have increased access to health insurance, protected consumers from abusive insurance company practices, and increased prevention.
Among the many reforms, Medicaid expansion has helped millions of Americans gain access to affordable coverage. It has also expanded health insurance options for children in low-income families.
1. More people have health insurance
The Affordable Care Act has dramatically improved access to healthcare for millions of Americans. Since the ACA was implemented in 2010, more than 20 million Americans have gained coverage and the uninsured rate has dropped significantly.
The ACA changed the way health insurance is sold and delivered, requiring private insurers to charge fair premiums that cover essential benefits. It also prohibited insurers from discriminating against people with preexisting conditions.
The law also requires insurers to cover free preventive services, such as contraception and cancer screenings, without copayments or deductibles. The ACA has already helped 137 million Americans with private health coverage gain these benefits.
2. More people have access to care
The affordable care act has made healthcare more accessible to millions of people in the us. This includes provisions such as expanding Medicaid, providing subsidies to help lower income individuals pay for coverage, implementing a number of new cost-control measures, and allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26.
Moreover, the ACA has helped reduce gaps in coverage across all communities. It has helped women receive coverage that was affordable for them; it has enabled people with preexisting conditions to obtain insurance; and it has helped LGBTQ individuals have access to affordable health care.
Despite these gains, the ACA is facing challenges such as a lawsuit that could threaten these benefits. These challenges could slow or stop progress toward a more affordable and accessible healthcare system.
3. More people have access to preventive care
The ACA requires insurance companies to cover a set of essential health benefits (EHBs), including screenings for cancer, blood pressure and cholesterol. It eliminates copayments and other forms of cost sharing for these services, and it holds insurance companies accountable for their premium prices.
The law also established state and multi-state insurance exchanges, where people can shop for insurance. This allows individuals and small businesses to purchase a policy that covers most of their medical costs.
However, many people haven’t received all of the preventive care recommended for them. This is especially true of women and men living with HIV/AIDS.
4. More people have access to mental health care
Despite the ACA’s challenges and repeal attempts, its provisions have helped increase coverage. Millions of Americans gained insurance for the first time, benefitting from prohibitions on discrimination by insurers and protections for people with preexisting conditions.
People with mental health problems also have better access to care thanks to the law’s essential health benefits. This means that the government essentially pays for medically necessary services, such as psychiatric treatment, prescription medications and other important health services.
Nevertheless, the cost of care remains high. This can be attributed in part to monopolies, which are associated with higher premiums than in competitive markets. However, the ACA requires insurers to spend 80% to 85% of premiums on healthcare, which should help lower costs in some ways. It also sets out experimental activities to test the impact of paying for care based on value instead of volume.
5. More people have access to emergency care
The ACA has had a huge impact on access to emergency care. It requires that insurers cover certain preventive services with no cost-sharing and it prohibits discrimination based on preexisting conditions.
But there are still millions of people without coverage. Many of these are women, people of color, and LGBTQ Americans.
The ACA has had an outsized impact on health equity for these groups, which are more likely to have chronic conditions that could have prevented them from getting insurance before the protections were put in place. Medicaid expansion, which has been especially important for women, people of color, and LGBTQ people, has helped them gain coverage.
