What are three benefits of the Affordable Care Act?

Asked by: Mr. Ansley Luettgen  |  Last update: August 4, 2025
Score: 4.6/5 (10 votes)

Overall, the Affordable Care Act aimed to accomplish 3 main strategies: make insurance affordable, emphasize prevention, and improve how health care is delivered. Over a decade later, it's challenging to ignore the new standards that were derived from the original push to pass this legislation.

What 3 things did the Affordable Care Act do?

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 ...

What are the 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.

In which 3 ways did the Affordable Care Act affect individuals?

How does health care reform affect me?
  • 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.

What are 5 mandated benefits under the ACA?

The 10 categories of benefits in an EHB package are: 1) ambulatory patient services, 2) emergency services, 3) hospitalization, 4) maternity and newborn care, 5) mental health and substance use disorder services, 6) prescription drugs, 7) rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices, 8) lab services, 9) ...

5 Things About The Affordable Care Act (ACA)

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Who is eligible for ACA benefits?

To be eligible to enroll in health coverage through the Marketplace, you must: Live in the United States (U.S). Be a U.S. citizen or national, or be lawfully present non-citizen in the U.S. Learn about eligible immigration statuses. Not be incarcerated.

What are the ACA 10 essential benefits?

The Affordable Care Act requires non-grandfathered health insurance coverage in the individual and small group markets to cover essential health benefits (EHB), which include items and services in at least the following ten benefit categories: (1) ambulatory patient services; (2) emergency services; (3) hospitalization ...

What is the biggest problem with the Affordable Care Act?

Impact on Individual Insurance

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.

What are the pros and cons of Obamacare?

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 is not eligible for Obamacare?

Must live in the United States. Must be a U.S. citizen or national (or be lawfully present). Learn about eligible immigration statuses. Cannot be incarcerated in prison or jail.

What are the impacts of the Affordable Care Act?

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 ...

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.

What is a benefit of the Affordable Care Act?

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.

Did the Affordable Care Act help the economy?

Lower long-term deficits due to the ACA will mean higher national saving, which will increase capital accumulation and reduce foreign borrowing, thereby making workers more productive and increasing national income and living standards over time. 4. Improving health and making workers more productive.

Why is affordable healthcare important?

Surveys consistently show that people delay or forgo care due to cost, worry about their ability to pay for health care bills, and incur medical debt. Health care affordability—or a lack thereof—can harm individual health.

What is the Affordable Care Act in simple terms?

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.

Does Obamacare cover surgery?

All plans offered in the Marketplace cover these 10 essential health benefits: Ambulatory patient services (outpatient care you get without being admitted to a hospital) Emergency services. Hospitalization (like surgery and overnight stays)

Who pays for Obamacare?

Here, we take a closer look at the coverage options and costs associated with ACA subsidies, and how they fit into overall healthcare spending. The federal government subsidizes health insurance for over 150 million Americans through various programs and tax benefits.

What state has the most Obamacare?

Florida had the largest number of ACA exchange plan sign ups for 2023, according to new data from CMS. A total of 16.3 million people enrolled in marketplace coverage between Nov. 1 and Jan.

Why are hospital bills so expensive?

There are many factors that contribute to the high cost of healthcare in the country including wasteful systems, rising drug costs, medical professional salaries, profit-driven healthcare centers, types of medical practices, and health-related pricing.

Does Obamacare cover everything?

A set of 10 categories of services health insurance plans must cover under the Affordable Care Act. These include doctors' services, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, prescription drug coverage, pregnancy and childbirth, mental health services, and more. Some plans cover more services.

Does Obamacare cover an ambulance?

Emergency services: Generally, this includes trips to the emergency room that are made necessary by an accident or sudden illness. Any transportation by ambulance must also be covered. Under the ACA, you cannot be penalized for going out of network or for not getting prior authorization for emergency care.

What is a binder payment?

What is a binder payment? A binder payment is the first payment you make to an insurance company to purchase the health plan you enrolled in. The binder payment covers the cost of your first month's premium.