Striking down the Affordable Care Act by court decree would have far-reaching repercussions for millions. They would face losing health and financial security as well as access to affordable health care through private insurers or public programs like Medicare or Medicaid.
Millions would lose tax credits that help them afford individual market coverage, harming both themselves and the economy by diverting funds away from food, housing and other essentials.
Preventative Care
The Affordable Care Act’s major coverage expansions made private insurance more affordable for millions of families while its prevention initiatives reduced chronic disease costs. These improvements to access have both improved health outcomes and the nation’s economic prospects.
Preventive services save lives and enhance health while lowering healthcare costs by helping prevent diseases earlier, managing them more effectively or treating them before they progress. Since 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has mandated private health plans cover preventive services without patient cost-sharing obligations.
Repealing this provision would cause people to spend less money on health care, leading them to spend less elsewhere in the economy and impact businesses and the overall economy. Furthermore, eliminating this penalty will increase premiums making insurance harder to afford for individuals; and may increase chances of individuals forgoing necessary medical treatments altogether.
Prescription Drug Rebate Program
The Affordable Care Act requires drug manufacturers to rebate part of their costs back to public payers if their prices increase beyond inflation rates, which acts as an important policy lever to help drive down prescription drug costs for health plans and members.
Medicaid law mandates rebates on brand-name and generic drugs sold to them, providing Medicaid with the lowest net drug price of any payer in the country. Unfortunately, however, its inflation rebate requirement contains flaws that distort broader markets and could contribute to rising drug costs.
Depending on whether the Affordable Care Act were to be repealed, this family could either experience increased premiums or lose their marketplace coverage altogether. With no individual mandate penalty to offset costs of coverage reductions and higher premiums; work requirements due to which this family would miss out on essential services like prenatal care and immunizations being available without delay due to repeal. We all gain from maintaining the ACA!
Access to Healthcare Services
Even during its contentious implementation process, the Affordable Care Act has produced remarkable coverage gains. Millions of Americans now have access to affordable health coverage through either marketplaces or Medicaid expansion provided through this act.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has allowed millions of Americans to gain access to free preventive healthcare services such as cancer screenings, cholesterol tests and annual checkups – services which were often only accessible via expensive private health plans prior to its passage.
As well, many young adults find coverage through their parents’ Marketplace plans; the Affordable Care Act has stipulated that insurers cannot charge more than 30% of the highest-priced plan for individuals under 26.
Repeal efforts would erode these significant advances in coverage and economic security, according to the Congressional Budget Office, who estimated that House-passed repeal bills could increase uninsured numbers by 23 million over three years. Furthermore, public opinion supports aspects of ACA coverage such as preexisting condition protections as well as its overall coverage model.
Financial Security
Financial security means being able to afford basic expenses, recover from unexpected setbacks and save for the future without debt becoming an obstacle in your path. Feeling in control is paramount with financial stability!
The Affordable Care Act has provided millions of Americans with financial security by making health insurance affordable in the marketplace while eliminating costly penalty fees. Furthermore, itemizing medical expenses on taxes has allowed access to high-quality care at an affordable cost.
Though the Affordable Care Act offers numerous advantages, its flaws are still evident. Congress Republicans’ misguided stewardship and various repeal efforts have undermined it, for instance by eliminating individual mandate and opening new avenues of attack against it such as increasing premiums, diminishing coverage gains and endangering EHBs. If its benefits were better understood and widely recognized then its opponents may not seek to target it so heavily.
