In 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act, providing access to affordable health care for all Americans.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made health insurance more accessible through tax credits and marketplaces where insurers compete for your business. It also requires them to spend at least 80 percent of your premium dollar on medical care and quality improvements rather than advertising, overhead expenses or bonuses for executives.
1. It will reduce the number of uninsured
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers assistance to Americans who can’t afford health insurance through marketplaces and subsidy assistance. This makes it easier for people to purchase health care coverage while reducing out-of-pocket expenses like copays and deductibles.
By law, insurance companies must devote at least 80 percent of your premium dollar to medical care and quality improvements – not advertising, overhead or bonuses for executives. If they don’t meet these standards, they must issue a rebate to you as compensation.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is revolutionizing how healthcare is provided and organized in this country, driving down costs, expanding access to care and improving quality.
2. It will reduce the number of people with pre-existing conditions
Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), insurance companies could use a person’s medical history as a basis to charge them more for coverage or deny them coverage altogether. Thankfully, this practice has been abolished by ACA regulations that guarantee comprehensive benefits and strong financial safeguards to all Americans regardless of income level or race.
Individual market coverage continues to evolve as members gain or lose employment, experience fluctuations in income or eligibility for public programs, age out of certain programs, and go through other life changes. Therefore, solutions beyond the ACA’s prohibitions on underwriting must be found that accommodate this dynamic population.
The Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid to a wider range of people – those earning less than 138% of the federal poverty level to those eligible for marketplace premium tax credits and CSR subsidies – has resulted in a reduction in preexisting conditions among vulnerable patients. Unfortunately, some policy proposals and court rulings could potentially repeal ACA protections for patients with such conditions.
3. It will increase the number of people with insurance
The Affordable Care Act has made health insurance more accessible and affordable, including subsidized enrollment of those with low incomes in the individual market, Medicaid expansion, and the creation of marketplaces for purchasing insurance policies.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), private insurers are required to charge fair premiums and refund money if they overspend on medical care. This has resulted in lower individual market premiums for those with preexisting conditions who qualify, as well as guaranteeing that everyone can access coverage.
Furthermore, the Affordable Care Act has seen an uptick in the number of adults working full time and eligible for employer-sponsored coverage. This includes low income individuals as well as undocumented immigrants without access to employer coverage due to their status.
4. It will increase the number of people with health care coverage
The Affordable Care Act has brought health insurance to millions more Americans thanks to its coverage expansions, such as Medicaid and the new individual insurance marketplaces for private health plans.
The Affordable Care Act has also created a Patient’s Bill of Rights that safeguards you against abusive practices by insurance companies. For instance, they cannot deny you coverage or charge more due to pre-existing conditions; and they must spend at least 80 percent of your premium dollar on health care instead of advertising, overhead expenses and bonuses for executives.
Additionally, the Affordable Care Act requires most individual market plans to offer essential benefits like maternity care and treatment for mental health and substance use disorders. These provisions guarantee a person’s healthcare coverage is comprehensive, including essential services.
