Why did we need the Affordable Care Act?
Asked by: Bessie Fahey | Last update: August 26, 2025Score: 5/5 (19 votes)
Why was the Affordable Care Act needed?
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 ...
Why do we need affordable health care?
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.
What would happen if we didn't have the Affordable Care Act?
The ACA provides benefits that largely flow to people with lower incomes and that are funded by taxes that affect people proportional to their income. If the law were repealed, people in households with incomes below $75,000 would experience a net loss due to reduced coverage and benefits.
What are two major benefits 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.
Here's Why the Affordable Care Act Is So Controversial | History
What were the 3 goals of the Affordable Care Act?
Overview of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The Triple Aim goals are: improve patient care, improve population health, and reduce the cost of health care.
Why are Republicans against the Affordable Care Act?
The opposition to a government role in health care is based on the fact that that the vast majority of our citizens do not trust their government. Republicans are much less trusting of the federal government and much less supportive of a government role in health care than Democrats.
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.
Is the Affordable Care Act mandatory?
Congress removed the ACA individual mandate in 2017 and the change was effective in 2019. But some states have their own healthcare mandates that impose financial penalties. Other states ask about insurance status on state tax filings, but do not impose a penalty.
Who pays for the Affordable Care Act?
The federal government covers 90% of the cost of Medicaid expansion. Individual Mandate: The ACA also originally included an “individual mandate” or requirement for most people to maintain health insurance.
What happens in America if you can't afford healthcare?
Americans are no longer taxed for not carrying health insurance. Medical debt contributes to a large number of bankruptcies in America. Access to quality primary care is critical, but doctors have the right to refuse patients without insurance or who are able to pay out-of-pocket expenses.
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.
Why do we need health care?
High-quality health care helps prevent diseases and improve quality of life. Healthy People 2030 focuses on improving health care quality and making sure all people get the health care services they need. Helping health care providers communicate more effectively can help improve health and well-being.
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.
Did Obamacare hurt the middle class?
Obamacare has cost the middle class money and freedom. Not even one in five people eligible for Obamacare plans who earn more than 250 percent of the federal poverty line have signed up for exchange coverage. Many chose to pay the individual mandate tax penalty instead.
Why was the Affordable Care Act created?
Perhaps the greatest overhaul of the US health care system in the past 50 y, the ACA sought to expand access to care, improve quality, and reduce health care costs.
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.
How many times have Republicans tried to repeal Obamacare?
After the July 27, 2017 vote on the Health Care Freedom Act, Newsweek "found at least 70 Republican-led attempts to repeal, modify or otherwise curb the Affordable Care Act since its inception as law on March 23, 2010."
Why don't people like ACA?
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 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.
What do Republicans believe about healthcare?
Republicans' alternative solution focuses on lowering health care premiums for families and small businesses, increasing access to affordable, high-quality care, and promoting healthier lifestyles – without adding to the crushing debt Washington has placed on our children and grandchildren.
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.