How did the Affordable Care Act affect individuals?

Asked by: Roxane Wiza  |  Last update: August 11, 2023
Score: 4.1/5 (64 votes)

The ACA enabled people to gain coverage by 1) expanding the publicly funded Medicaid program to cover adults with annual incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level; 2) establishing the Health Insurance Marketplace for individuals and small businesses, allowing them to purchase private health insurance (PHI); and 3 ...

How did the Affordable Care Act benefit individuals?

About the Affordable Care Act

Make affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies (“premium tax credits”) that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

How does the Affordable Care Act affect Americans?

Gaining insurance coverage also increased the probability of having a usual place of care by between 47.1 percent and 86.5 percent. These findings suggest that not only has the ACA decreased the number of uninsured Americans, but has substantially improved access to care for those who gained coverage.

How many people were affected by the Affordable Care Act?

New Reports Show Record 35 Million People Enrolled in Coverage Related to the Affordable Care Act, with Historic 21 Million People Enrolled in Medicaid Expansion Coverage.

Why are people upset about the Affordable Care Act?

More than 60% of Americans have stated that most of what they know about the ACA came from watching TV. Opposition to a government role in health care and to mandatory health insurance makes it unlikely that the US will be able to insure that all of its citizens have ongoing access to health care in the near future.

How Does The Affordable Care Act Work?

40 related questions found

Who benefits most from the Affordable Care Act?

People with the lowest incomes tended to benefit the most from the law. That makes sense, given how the Affordable Care Act is designed. In states that expanded Medicaid, low-income people can get insurance without having to pay a premium.

Did the Affordable Care Act save lives?

We find a reduction in all-cause mortality in ages 20 to 64 equaling 11.36 deaths per 100,000 individuals, a 3.6 percent decrease. This estimate is largely driven by reductions in causes of death likely to be influenced by access to health care, and equates to one life saved per 310 newly covered individuals.

Who did the Affordable Care Act hurt?

The biggest Obamacare losers are people who lost their insurance but are unlikely to qualify for subsidies through one of the new exchanges, which require an income of less than $47,000 for an individual or $95,000 for a family of four.

How successful has the Affordable Care Act been?

More than 20 million people have gained coverage as a result of the ACA. It has dramatically reduced the uninsured rate.

Did the Affordable Care Act help the economy?

In reviewing evidence over the past five years, this report concludes that the ACA has had no net negative economic impact and, in fact, has likely helped to stimulate growth by contributing to the slower rise in health care costs.

What is the impact of the ACA on vulnerable populations?

The ACA gives states the option of expanding Medicaid to most individuals under age 65 with incomes below 133% FPL (or 138% including income disregards). The ACA also requires states to provide Medicaid coverage for all children and adolescents through age 18 up to 133% FPL.

Why is affordable healthcare important?

People without coverage are more likely to suffer declines in overall health — the result of little or no preventive care and delays in care that cause more severe problems or hospitalizations.

Has the Affordable Care Act helped individuals or made it more difficult for some to pay their healthcare premiums?

High Premiums And Deductibles In The Individual Market

The ACA's significant changes to the individual insurance market helped many millions of people get more affordable insurance but pushed others, particularly those with incomes too high to qualify for subsidies, out of the market.

What impact did the Affordable Care Act have on access to care for US adults with diabetes?

8 Prior to the ACA, 17% of American adults with diabetes were uninsured. Since the law took effect, that number declined by 12%, and among low-income Americans with diabetes, the decline was 27%.

What are three benefits of the Affordable Care Act quizlet?

Match
  • extending insurance coverage to the uninsured/underinsured.
  • decreasing costs by improving efficiency.
  • expanding prevention and wellness programs (PH measures)
  • protecting against undue financial burdens on individuals as a result of healthcare expenditures.
  • improving patient safety and quality of care.

What did the Affordable Care Act actually do?

The ACA expanded Medicaid eligibility, created a Health Insurance Marketplace, and prevented insurance companies from denying coverage due to preexisting conditions. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover a list of essential health benefits.

Did the Affordable Care Act increase quality of care?

Findings In this nationally representative cross-sectional study of 123 171 individuals, the ACA was associated with more high-value diagnostic and preventive testing, improved patient experience and access, and decreased out-of-pocket expenditures for lower income US individuals.

How many lives saved by Affordable Care Act?

Medicaid Expansion Has Saved at Least 19,000 Lives, New Research Finds. The Affordable Care Act's (ACA) expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults is preventing thousands of premature deaths each year, a landmark study finds.

How much has the Affordable Care Act saved?

The ACA has helped bend the cost curve. But we should not rest on this $650 billion savings success. We can do more. Policymakers have increasingly come to understand that high prices are the biggest contributor to the growth in the cost of health care.

What would make the Affordable Care Act better?

Making Insurance Premiums More Affordable

ensure through 2025 that no one has to spend more than 8.5 percent of household income on premiums; previously, eligibility for premium tax credits was capped at 400 percent of the federal poverty level (i.e., $106,000 for a family of four)

Is the Affordable Care Act a failure?

Not only did the ACA fail to control the rising cost of insurance, but it also failed to make health care and prescribed medicines affordable. According to a West Health and Gallup, 30 percent of surveyed individuals did not seek needed medical treatment due to the cost from September to October 2021.

How do voters feel about the Affordable Care Act?

The most recent KFF Tracking Poll conducted in March 2022 found slightly more than half of the public (55%) hold a favorable opinion of the ACA while about four in ten (42%) hold a negative opinion of the law.

What happens if there was no Affordable Care Act?

Across the country, 29.8 million people would lose their health insurance if the Affordable Care Act were repealed—more than doubling the number of people without health insurance.

What are the 10 essential benefits of the Affordable Care Act?

Essential health benefits ensure that health plans cover care that patients need
  • Ambulatory patient services (outpatient services)
  • Emergency services.
  • Hospitalization.
  • Maternity and newborn care.
  • Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment.
  • Prescription drugs.