What is the significance of the ACA to the field of public health?

Asked by: Trevion Rogahn  |  Last update: February 26, 2025
Score: 4.6/5 (32 votes)

In addition to insuring most Americans, making an effort to rationalize health care, investing in primary health care in medically underserved communities, and broadening coverage for effective clinical preventive health services, the Affordable Care Act makes direct public health investments.

How does the ACA affect 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 is the significance of the Affordable health care Act?

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.

Why do we need the Affordable Care Act American public health Association?

By making health coverage more affordable and accessible and thus increasing the number of Americans with coverage, by funding community-based public health and prevention programs, and by supporting research and tracking on key health measures, the ACA will begin to reduce disparities, enhance access to preventive ...

What does ACA stand for in public health?

Affordable Care Act (ACA) The comprehensive health care reform law was enacted in March 2010. The law has 3 primary goals: Make affordable health insurance available to more people.

What is Public Health??

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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 is ACA health benefits?

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.

What are the three purposes of the ACA?

The ACA has three primary goals at its foundation, collectively known as the Triple Aim. The Triple Aim goals are: improve patient care, improve population health, and reduce the cost of health care.

How does the Affordable Care Act increase access to health care?

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 ...

Why is American public health Association important?

APHA serves as a convenor, catalyst and advocate to build capacity in the public health community. We champion optimal, equitable health and well-being for all.

Why is the ACA necessary?

Continued implementation of the ACA can increase the number of people covered by health insurance and help reduce costs in the health system. The ACA helps cut high U.S. health care costs.

Why is it important to have affordable healthcare?

Affordability impacts whether people can get the care they need, like insulin to manage their diabetes or following up on a mammogram. If those are too costly, people will delay or skip care, which has significant impacts down the line on both health outcomes and cost.

Which is known to be 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.

What health benefits are mandated by the ACA?

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 ...

How does the Affordable Care Act ACA directly prevent chronic disease and improve public health?

Undergirding the ACA's preventive services provision is the requirement that insurance plans cover certain evidence-based services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), including recommended screenings such as blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, some cancers, sexually transmitted diseases, ...

What impact has the ACA had on health 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.

How has the ACA 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.

How did the Affordable Care Act impact healthcare in this country?

Since 2010, The ACA has given more than 40 million Americans access to health care, expanded Medicaid to 40 states to cover 21 million low-income adults under 65, and protected as many as 133 million (Opens in a new tab) with pre-existing conditions from losing their health insurance.

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 is the significance of 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). Expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the FPL.

What are the three pillars of ACA?

1 The 3 pillars of the Affordable Care Act (ACA): access, quality, and cost.

Who does the ACA impact and who does it not?

The ACA affects virtually all aspects of the health system, including insurers, providers, state governments, employers, taxpayers, and consumers. The law built on the existing health insurance system, making changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and employer-sponsored coverage.

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.

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

The Affordable Care Act significantly impacted individuals by ensuring women were not charged more than men for health insurance (A), allowing access to insurance regardless of health status (B), and mandating that most individuals obtain health insurance (C). Therefore, the correct answers are A, B, and C.

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.