How has the Affordable Care Act improved or worsened the US healthcare system?
Asked by: Delmer Beier DVM | Last update: September 18, 2025Score: 4.8/5 (26 votes)
Has the Affordable Care Act improved health care in the United States?
The ACA made several improvements to health plans across all markets, including employer coverage. It prohibited lifetime and annual benefit limits, required plans to cap out-of-pocket costs, and required that young adults be allowed to remain on their parents' plans until age 26.
How did the Affordable Care Act change healthcare?
It did so by expanding Medicaid to people with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level (the poverty level in the continental U.S. is $15,060 for a single individual in 2024); creating new health insurance exchange markets through which individuals can purchase coverage and receive financial help to afford ...
What are the negative effects of the Affordable Care Act?
It was also known that consumers would face a very different health insurance world under the ACA, with some people seeing their premiums go down and some seeing them go up, and the majority of Americans seeing higher deductibles, higher copays, and a smaller pool of providers.
How does the Affordable Care Act impact health and health care disparities?
The ACA has reduced racial/ethnic disparities in coverage, although substantial disparities remain. Further increases in coverage will require Medicaid expansion by more states and improved program take-up in states that have already done so.
Obamacare Explained: Understanding the Affordable Care Act
What is one way the Affordable Care Act has impacted healthcare in the US?
The ACA uses two primary approaches to increase access to health insurance: It expands access to Medicaid, based solely on income, for those with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL), and creates eligibility for those with incomes from 139% to 400% FPL to apply for subsidies [in the form of advance ...
In which 3 ways did the Affordable Care Act affect individuals?
- If you get sick, an insurance company cannot cancel your policy.
- Health insurance companies cannot turn down your application because of your health status.
- Women can no longer be charged more for insurance than men.
Why did people not like Affordable Care Act?
Despite these positive changes, a near majority of Americans still oppose the ACA, even though they approve of most of its features. They oppose the mandate that all Americans must have health insurance (the individual mandate), and they oppose a government role in health care.
How can our health care system as a whole be improved?
- Collect Data and Analyze Patient Outcomes. If you can't measure it, then you can't manage it. ...
- Set Goals and Commit to Ongoing Evaluation. ...
- Improve Access to Care. ...
- Focus on Patient Engagement. ...
- Connect and Collaborate With Other Organizations.
How does the Affordable Care Act affect the US economy?
The ACA's deficit-reducing effects will grow over time. CBO estimates that over the decade from 2023 through 2032, the ACA will reduce the deficit by an average of 0.5 percent of GDP each year, corresponding to total deficit reduction of nearly $1.6 trillion over that ten-year period.
How did the Affordable Care Act benefit?
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 did the Affordable Care Act affect hospitals?
Provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aim to reduce hospital admissions—and, by extension, hospital revenue. In some cases, the emphasis on bundled payments and other initiatives is speeding consolidations and closures.
What are the unintended consequences of the ACA?
Consolidation in the private health insurance market causes premiums to go up, with larger insurers often paying negotiated, lower prices to health care providers while charging more to employers and individual members.
How does the Affordable Care Act affect public health?
The law will result in health insurance coverage for about 94% of the American population, reducing the uninsured by 31 million people, and increasing Medicaid enrollment by 15 million beneficiaries. Approximately 24 million people are expected to remain without coverage.
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 mortality in counties with higher pre-expansion uninsured rates and for causes of death likely to be influenced by access to healthcare.
What did Obama do for health care?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.
How has healthcare changed for the better?
Use of Digital Technology Skyrockets. Technology advances at an incredible rate, so it is no wonder that more sophisticated systems have drastically changed the delivery and analysis of healthcare. Not to mention the increase in healthcare access for physicians, clinics and patients.
How can the government make healthcare more affordable?
To improve affordability, the ACA created two types of subsidies that work together to reduce the cost of health insurance for households who purchase coverage through Covered California if they meet certain income‑eligibility criteria and do not otherwise have access to affordable coverage—such as through an employer, ...
What are the strengths of the US healthcare system?
Patient-centered care and freedom of choice are major strengths of the United States healthcare system. Patient-centered care focuses on placing patients at the center of healthcare decision-making and considering their values, preferences, and needs [1]. This technique has shown great success in multiple avenues.
What is the biggest problem with the Affordable Care Act?
Obamacare has increased the cost of health care and health insurance. The ACA's federal mandates and spending, including Medicaid expansion and subsidized individual plans, have drastically increased the cost of health care and health insurance. 2. Obamacare increases Americans' reliance on the federal government. …
What are the pros and cons of the Affordable Care Act?
The pros of the ACA include prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage based on health history and providing subsidies to reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The cons of the ACA include small business challenges and limited provider options in some regions.
Who does not benefit from the Affordable Care Act?
Individuals with incomes exceeding 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL; $46,680 for an individual, $95,400 for a family of four) are ineligible for either Medicaid or Marketplace tax credits. This group represents 16 percent of the ineligible, uninsured population. 2.
How has the Affordable Care Act improved quality of care?
Improvements in community health centers – The ACA also provides for improving the quality of our care by strengthening the nation's network of community health centers and testing new methods for delivering services, for example, coordinating care among physicians and community resources.
What are the possible effects of being underinsured?
In the event of a claim, being underinsured may result in economic losses for the policyholder, since the claim could exceed the maximum amount that could be paid out by the insurance policy. Underinsurance comes from having wrong coverage or insufficient coverage for your small business.
How did the Affordable Care Act affect the economy?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace has led to substantial coverage gains among small business owners and self-employed individuals, and the American Rescue Plan has bolstered the Marketplace's positive effects on household finances. substantial benefits in terms of improved household finances.