How has the ACA helped low income families?

Asked by: Khalid Becker  |  Last update: October 6, 2023
Score: 4.8/5 (54 votes)

Health insurance is expensive and can be hard to afford for people with lower or moderate income, particularly if they are not offered health benefits at work. In response, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides for sliding-scale subsidies to lower premiums and out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for eligible individuals.

How has the Affordable Care Act helped low-income families?

The Affordable Care Act, signed into law on March 23, 2010, brought expanded access to Medicaid in 34 states and Washington, DC, which means that people living in poverty in these states can access Medicaid much more quickly and easily than before.

Does the Affordable Care Act help poor?

Key Takeaways. Over the past decade, expansions of Medi-Cal (federally known as Medicaid) and federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have improved access to health insurance for millions of lower-income Californians.

What are benefits of the Affordable Care Act is helpful for families?

People have access to essential health benefits, including preventive and rehabilitative care, prescription drugs, wellness visits and contraceptives, mental health and substance use treatment, among many others.

How did the ACA Obamacare impact low-income Americans access to health care?

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.

5 Things About The Affordable Care Act (ACA)

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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.

How has the ACA improved health care?

Coverage Gains under the ACA

The ACA has made health insurance more accessible—particularly for women, people of color, and LGBTQ people. Its provisions, especially Medicaid expansion, have made insurance more affordable and have resulted in substantial gains in health coverage.

Has the ACA helped or hurt low income individuals and families?

Since the ACA's subsidies took effect in 2014, uninsured rates for non-elderly people with incomes between 138 and 400 percent of the poverty line have fallen dramatically, from 19.2 percent in 2013 to 12.5 percent in 2017.

What are 3 benefits of the Affordable Care Act?

Affordable Care Act (ACA) basics

Among other things, the ACA made it easier for many people to get coverage, removed annual and lifetime limits on essential health benefits and put in place requirements that individuals have medical coverage or pay a tax penalty.

What are two major benefits of the Affordable Care Act?

The law has 3 primary goals:
  • Make affordable health insurance available to more people. ...
  • Expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the FPL. ...
  • Support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally.

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.

What are some effects of the Affordable Care Act?

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 ...

Has the Affordable Care Act helped people?

The ACA has reduced the number of uninsured people to historically low levels and helped more people access health care services, especially low-income people and people of color.

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.

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.

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.

How efficient is the Affordable Care Act?

More than 20 million people have gained coverage as a result of the ACA. It has dramatically reduced the uninsured rate. On the day President Obama signed the ACA, 16 percent of Americans were uninsured; in March 2020, it was nine percent.

What is the Affordable Care Act and what does it require?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a comprehensive reform law, enacted in 2010, that increases health insurance coverage for the uninsured and implements reforms to the health insurance market. This includes many provisions that are consistent with AMA policy and holds the potential for a better health care system.

What are the two main parts of the Affordable Care Act?

The law has 2 parts: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act.

How did the ACA reduce income inequality?

Those in the lowest-income group—many of whom gained Medicaid coverage under the ACA—are better off because their out-of-pocket health spending is reduced and they do not pay private health insurance premiums. Middle-income groups gain no income benefit under the ACA.

How did the Affordable Care Act benefit the economy?

By increasing workers' mobility across jobs, secure access to health insurance helps them to find the job that is best for them—and thus increases overall wages and productivity. Moreover, reducing job lock encourages entrepreneurship, a critical ingredient for growth and job creation. 6.

What does the ACA mostly likely to accomplish?

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has 3 main objectives: (1) to reform the private insurance market—especially for individuals and small-group purchasers, (2) to expand Medicaid to the working poor with income up to 133% of the federal poverty level, and (3) to change the way that medical decisions ...

How the Affordable Care Act changed healthcare?

The ACA significantly changed the healthcare system in the U.S. by reducing the amount individuals and families paid in uncompensated care. The act requires every American to have health insurance and provides assistance to those who cannot afford a plan.

What are the positive effects of the ACA on Medicare and Medicaid recipients?

The law ensures that future generations will have access to benefits by strengthening the Medicare trust fund and by supporting delivery system reforms that will help reduce the growth in health care costs. ACA promotes health and wellness for beneficiaries by emphasizing prevention, quality, and care coordination.