Overview Of The Affordable Care Act (ACA)

President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010. This law puts in place widespread health insurance reforms that expanded out over the last 4 years and continues to change the lives of many Americans today. Health care reform has been an extensively debated topic for multiple years, and the ACA is the first effective attempt at passing a law aiming to make health care not only affordable, but accessible for all individuals. The law impacts many Americans including, children, employers, government programs which includes federal and state, health plans and private insurers, health care coverage, health care cost, and the quality of care received. The main goal of the law is to expand health care coverage, broaden Medicaid eligibility, minimize and regulate health care cost, and improve the health care delivery system. In order to improve the health care delivery there have been new consumer protections established and an increase access to affordable care.

As you know my situation is messy here in Texas. As a single, young male I do not qualify for Medicaid and with the ACA expansion more people are qualifying for Medicaid depending on their state. Sadly, that is not the case for me. I live in the state of Texas which is one of nearly 20 states yet to expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and is home to the largest number of uninsured Americans of any state in the country. I do not meet the Medicaid requirements in Texas, available only to people with disabilities who have incomes below 75 percent of the federal poverty level; pregnant women with incomes less than 200 percent of poverty; and parents with incomes less than 19 percent of poverty. I will continue to be uninsured and as a freelance construction worker I should have coverage in case of a mishap at work. Therefore, I strongly support the idea of adding a public option to the U.S healthcare system for individuals like myself that do not qualify for Medicaid and do not have the financial means to buy health insurance on the private market.

The ACA is made up of a series of additions of and changes, to the multiple laws that are made up from the legal framework of the U.S. healthcare system. This act establishes the basic legal protections that have been nonexistent to the United States, will now guarantee access to affordable health insurance coverage for Americans, from when they are born, all the way through his or her retirement. The act hopes in cutting the number of uninsured Americans by more than half of the U.S. population (Rosenbaum, 2011, p.130). This law hopes to result in health insurance coverage for about 94% of the American population (Rosenbaum, 2011, p. 130). This will reduce the population of uninsured Americans by 31 million people, and increase Medicaid enrollment by 15 million recipients (Rosenbaum, 2011, p. 130). Approximately 24 million people are still expected to remain without a coverage plan. The act has several goals. For instance, one goal of the ACA is to have a close to universal coverage system, with the help and responsibility among individuals, employers, and largely, the government. The second goal is to improve the fairness, condition, and affordable prices of health insurance coverage for Americans (Rosenbaum, 2011, p. 130). Lastly, a third goal is to improve the quality of health care through value, excellence, and effectiveness while trying to reduce inefficient spending and making the healthcare system more reachable to a diverse population (Rosenbaum,

On March 23, 2010, President Barak Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into affect in order to provide affordable, quality health care for all American citizens. The purpose of the ACA was to expand public and private insurance coverage opportunities, increase protections of the insured so they qualify for coverage, promote the overall wellness of the public and improve education on prevention, to improve the healthcare systems and the quality of healthcare professionals, to increase the amount of available healthcare workers, and to eradicate the rapidly increasing cost of receiving medical care (King, 2011). The ACA, also known as Obamacare, was created to reform the health insurance situation starting in 2010 and continuing through 2014. Some

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) 2010 is one of the most radical healthcare moves in legislation of United States after Medicare and Medicaid. The main goals of ACA were to decrease the number of uninsured and provide cost-effective high-quality care to all in US. According to Kaiser Family Foundation, the potential plan of ACA was to expand coverage to 47 million nonelderly uninsured in the nation, which included 1.6 million

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), consumers are utilizing different resources to gain more knowledge about healthcare choices. While many consumers survey websites from healthcare organizations, they also viewed websites from quality agencies and medical information sites generated by their favorite search engine. These websites provide information on medical concerns that influence the choices that consumers make regarding healthcare. By using quality agency websites, consumers can acquire essential information on healthcare organizations and providers in order to make educated decisions about the quality care they receive.

The Affordable Care Act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), commonly called "Obamacare," is a federal statute that was signed into law in March of 2010 (PDF, n.d.; Van de Water, 2011). It basically requires the vast majority of people in the United States who do not have insurance coverage to acquire that coverage or face penalties. People who already have insurance through their employers or on their own will not be asked to change companies. Additionally, anyone who is on federally-funded insurance such as Medicaid or Medicare and still qualifies for those programs will not be removed from their insurance. They will still be covered and protected. In order to find out more about the Act and really understand its main points and principles, however, it is very important to be aware of how it became a law and any changes that have taken place to it from its inception all the way through where it is today. Only then can a person have a clear understanding of the Act and form an opinion as to the value it may (or may not) provide to the American public. There is still much speculation and a great deal of misunderstanding about the Act and what it involves.

In the U.S. “Decreasing the number of uninsured is the number one goal of the Affordable Care Act(ACA), which provides Medicaid coverage to many low-income individuals” (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2015, p.1). Despite the success of the ACA enrollment of millions of people with health insurance, the most at risk and pressing group of our population are our children. This is a group that needs our attention and their health should be the country’s number one priority. This is a vast difference from Canada, where every child has health care coverage for life because of its Universal Health Care. Bodenheimer and Grumbach (2013) noted that over the years, “reformers in the United States argued for the passage of a national health insurance program, government’s guarantee that every person is insured for basic health care”(p.187). But this effort was not only defeated time and time again, but it was constantly shoved under the rug. It was not until a great effort was pushed by President Obama that we started to see some changes in our health care system. Still a lot of work needs to be done, especially for our children. Stronger measures must be implemented to make sure that every child has an opportunity to live a long and healthy life. This is especially geared towards children living in rural areas, “where access to health care is especially low or non-existence” (Rosenblatt & Hart, 2000, p.1).

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was signed into law in 2010. The goal of the ACA is to provide affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans. The ACA was also designed to protect Americans from insurance company schemes that may increase patient costs or restrict care. Millions of Americans have benefitted by receiving insurance coverage through the ACA, especially those who are unemployed or have low-income jobs. Some could not afford insurance because they could not work due to a disability or family obligations. Others could not get health insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions. “More than 45 million Americans are uninsured, and as a result, they experience increased morbidity and mortality”

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or what many are calling “Obama Care” is a US law that reforms both healthcare and health insurance industries in America by increasing the quality, availability, and affordability of private and public health insurance to uninsured Americans. It does this through many provisions including; new regulations, taxes, mandates, and subsidies. In addition, expanded Medicaid to millions in states that chose to expand the program (including Minnesota) and is working to curb healthcare spending in the US.

Like every law, the Affordable Care Act passed in March of 2010 has its positives and its negatives. While there are numerous benefits that will come to pass due to the act, there are also several factors preventing many states from fully enacting the new requirements of the law. In fact, many are fighting the new policy. For all of the arguments centering the new health care act, the benefits offered by the ACA far outweigh the negatives. The law looks to expand coverage and care, as well as reduce the overall costs of healthcare services and will benefit millions.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has dramatically increased insurance coverage and protections for women. However, thousands of women still face barriers to care due to a lack of oversight of health plan provider networks. Often times, health plans advertise that they have an abundance of providers, but many of those providers are not easily accessible due to far distances, delayed appointment availability, inability to accept new patients, or no longer accepting the insurers plan. Because we live in a digital age, finding providers can be effortlessly completed with the click of a button. However, the problem starts with the insurance companies’ websites, where consumers can search for an insurance plan and find providers and hospitals.

The Affordable Care Act or ACA (often called ObamaCare) was signed into law on 23 March 2010 by President Obama. The ACA is a vastly wide-ranging piece of legislation which touches on many facets of our health care system. It is comprised of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the Patient Protection Act, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. This act is known as being one of the most comprehensive reforms of the United States medical care system in the last several decades, as it put in place broad transformations that are supposed to increase access to reasonably priced health insurance for everyone. The ACA renovates the non-group insurance market in the United States, dictates citizens have health insurance, considerably expands public insurance, subsidizes private insurance, increases revenues from an assortment of new tax laws, and lessens and restructures spending under the country's largest health insurance plan, Medicare.

In March 2010, the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama; among the most commendable benefits of the ACA is universal coverage. This act made it possible for people of classes and racial descent in the United States to access health care insurance, regardless of their pre-existing conditions and gender. ACA prevented insurers from denying insurance coverage as a result of any pre-existing conditions, meaning that no one would be excessively charged for health care, left without coverage or, denied treatment due to their health status or condition. This health reform meant a tremendous increase in health insurance coverage for the uninsured, and implemented reforms to the health insurance market

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as “Obamacare”, has drastically altered healthcare in America. The goal of this act was to give Americans access to affordable, high quality insurance while simultaneously decreasing overall healthcare spending. The ACA had intended to maximize health care coverage throughout the United States, but this lofty ambition resulted in staggeringly huge financial and human costs.