Was the ACA good or bad for America?
Asked by: Layla Wisozk | Last update: September 30, 2023Score: 5/5 (63 votes)
Since its enactment on March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act has led to an historic advancement of health equity in the United States. This landmark law improved the health of all Americans, including women and families, kids, older adults, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ and communities of color.
How did the ACA help Americans?
The main goal of the ACA was to ensure that every American could afford a health insurance plan. This allowed families whose income put them at poverty level to be able afford their health insurance premium. This is done in the form of issued tax credits.
Why were people against ACA?
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.
What was the failure of the ACA?
This resulted in an average increase in health insurance premiums of 28 percent to 40 percent on the health care exchange. 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.
Did the ACA actually help?
Since its enactment on March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act has led to an historic advancement of health equity in the United States. This landmark law improved the health of all Americans, including women and families, kids, older adults, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ and communities of color.
Here's Why the Affordable Care Act Is So Controversial | History
Why is ACA bad for the economy?
To date, there is no evidence that the ACA has had a negative impact on economic growth or jobs or that its reforms have undermined full-time employment—effects that the law's opponents had warned about.
What is the biggest issue with ACA?
- Increased your health care or health insurance costs. 59% 12%
- Made it more difficult for you to get the health care you need. 22% 5%
- Caused someone in your family to lose your health insurance. 11% 2%
Did the ACA 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.
What did Biden do to ACA?
For his first two years in office, President Biden prioritized the ACA in his legislative agenda. Early in his term, he signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which included a significant increase in premium subsidies for Marketplace enrollees, through 2022.
How many Americans benefited from 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.
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.
Did the ACA reduce healthcare costs?
The bottom line: cumulatively from 2010 to 2017 the ACA reduced health care spending a total of $2.3 trillion.
What was controversial about the ACA?
One early controversy concerned whether individuals would lose their current health plans when the new law took effect. Initially, some insured people were taken by surprise when their insurers canceled policies that did not qualify as minimum essential coverage (MEC) under the ACA.
Who benefits from the Affordable Care Act?
About the Affordable Care Act
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). Expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the FPL.
How did the ACA affect taxes?
To increase health insurance coverage, the ACA provided individuals and small employers with a tax credit to purchase insurance and imposed taxes on individuals with inadequate coverage and on employers who do not offer adequate coverage.
What did Obama do for the ACA?
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices.
How did ACA affect long term care?
The ACA also made it easier for states to use federal Medicaid dollars for long-term care support systems and services, including expanding options for home- and-community-based services for people who are eligible for a nursing home but can alternatively reside at home with the appropriate support systems in place.
How has the ACA impacted public health?
The ACA also directly influences public health through the creation of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, the nation's first mandatory funding for public health, and the first National Prevention Strategy, a sweeping development program that for the first time focuses on individual behavioral choices and the social ...
What would happen if ACA was repealed?
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. And 1.2 million jobs would be lost—not just in health care but across the board.
Who benefits from repealing the ACA?
Full repeal would also reduce premiums for higher-income beneficiaries, and reduce payroll tax contributions from beneficiaries (and other taxpayers) with high earnings. Repealing the ACA would have uncertain effects on evolving payment and delivery system reforms.
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.
How many lives did ACA save?
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. It saved the lives of at least 19,200 adults aged 55 to 64 over the four-year period from 2014 to 2017.
Did ACA improve healthcare access in America?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law twelve years ago, on March 23, 2010. In the years since, the United States has seen remarkable progress in access to affordable health coverage and health care. Before the law was passed, around 18 percent of the population—more than 46.5 million people—were uninsured.
How did ACA improve quality of healthcare?
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.