Why was the Affordable Care Act designed?

Asked by: Hermina Jacobson  |  Last update: November 11, 2023
Score: 4.8/5 (51 votes)

The purpose of the ACA was to expand access to insurance, increase consumer protections, emphasize prevention and wellness, improve quality and system performance, expand the health workforce, and curb rising health care costs.

Why was the Affordable Care Act created?

The law has 3 primary goals: 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).

What did the Affordable Care Act actually do?

The ACA expanded Medicaid eligibility, created a Health Insurance Marketplace, and prevented insurance companies from denying coverage due to preexisting conditions. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover a list of essential health benefits.

Who came up with the idea of the Affordable Care Act?

The bill was introduced on October 29, 2009 and passed on November 7, during the 1st Session of the 111th Congress. Its primary sponsor was the Dean of the House, John Dingell of Michigan. The bill is a revised version of an earlier measure, the proposed America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (HR 3200).

Why is the Affordable Care Act controversial?

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.

How Does The Affordable Care Act Work?

19 related questions found

What was the original goal of the Affordable Care Act quizlet?

The ACA was enacted with the goals of increasing the quality and affordability of health insurance, lowering the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage, and reducing the costs of healthcare for individuals and the government.

What 3 things did the Affordable Care Act do?

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.

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 causes of death likely to be influenced by access to health care, and equates to one life saved per 310 newly covered individuals.

Did the Affordable Care Act help the economy?

In reviewing evidence over the past five years, this report concludes that the ACA has had no net negative economic impact and, in fact, has likely helped to stimulate growth by contributing to the slower rise in health care costs.

How did the Affordable Care Act improve quality?

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.

Why is affordable healthcare important?

People without coverage are more likely to suffer declines in overall health — the result of little or no preventive care and delays in care that cause more severe problems or hospitalizations.

What are three benefits of the Affordable Care Act quizlet?

Match
  • extending insurance coverage to the uninsured/underinsured.
  • decreasing costs by improving efficiency.
  • expanding prevention and wellness programs (PH measures)
  • protecting against undue financial burdens on individuals as a result of healthcare expenditures.
  • improving patient safety and quality of care.

What are two major benefits of the Affordable Care Act?

Two of the biggest coverage expansion provisions of the ACA went into full effect in 2014: the expansion of Medicaid and the launch of the health insurance marketplaces for private coverage. Together, these programs now cover tens of millions of Americans.

What did Biden do to the Affordable Care Act?

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.

Has the Affordable Care Act helped people?

The ACA has reduced the number of uninsured people to historically low levels and helped more people access health care services, especially low-income people and people of color.

What happens if there was no Affordable Care Act?

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.

Who did the Affordable Care Act hurt?

The biggest Obamacare losers are people who lost their insurance but are unlikely to qualify for subsidies through one of the new exchanges, which require an income of less than $47,000 for an individual or $95,000 for a family of four.

How successful was the Affordable Care Act?

By any metric, it has been wildly successful. Has it improved coverage? Indisputably, yes. More than 20 million people have gained coverage as a result of the ACA.

What are the 10 essential benefits of the Affordable Care Act?

Essential health benefits ensure that health plans cover care that patients need
  • Ambulatory patient services (outpatient services)
  • Emergency services.
  • Hospitalization.
  • Maternity and newborn care.
  • Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment.
  • Prescription drugs.

What type of reform was the Affordable Care Act?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law by President Obama in March 2010, provides for comprehensive health reform in the United States. A major part of the ACA includes insurance reforms designed to make adequate and affordable health insurance accessible to nearly everyone.

What were the two main goals of the Affordable Care Act ACA with respect to health insurance?

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has two main goals: (1) to make health care coverage more available, affordable, and acceptable and (2) to slow the growth of health care costs in the U.S.

Was the Affordable Care Act a bill?

4872 makes a number of health-related financing and revenue changes to this bill. Read together, this bill and the health care-related provisions of H.R. 4872 are commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

What is a benefit of the Affordable Care Act quizlet?

Increases benefits and lower costs for consumers, bolster our health care and public health workforce and infrastructure, foster innovation and quality in our system.

What are four benefits with the ACA?

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.