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The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act

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What the Act Offers
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act offers many healthcare benefits to a diverse group of American citizens. However, there are a few downsides as well. The major portions of the act deal with four primary issues:
1. Increasing the health care coverage of patients with pre-existing conditions
2. Expanding access to health care insurance to over 30 million uninsured Americans
3. Expanding Medicare/Medicaid Coverage
4. Mandating Health Insurance

History of the “Need” for PPACA
Before PPACA was enacted, insurers could discriminate against those with pre-existing medical conditions. The discrimination usually came in the form of denying coverage, striking patients from the coverage rolls when they got sick, …show more content…

Relative to currently projected levels, the number of people purchasing individual coverage outside the exchanges would decline by about 5 million, and the number obtaining coverage through their employer would also decline by about 5 million. The number is fully rounded out by adding those who would previously be denied due to pre-existing conditions and newly eligible Medicaid recipients.
The PPACA also took steps to reform the Medicare System. Medicaid will be broadened to offer coverage to those families making up to 133% of the poverty line (Jacobson, 2011). It also phases out the Medicaid “doughnut hole” in the next few years. The “doughnut hole” is the gap in prescription drug coverage that the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program had in place. Seniors had to pay 100% of the costs of prescription drugs that were over $2250 but less than $4550 in annual costs. Under the new provisions these costs would be covered by 2019 (Jacobson, 2011).

Who Benefits the Most? Who Loses?
The PPACA benefits a broad array of Americans. As far as sheer numbers are concerned the act benefits the uninsured the most. A 2011 Gallup Poll, “In U.S., 16.4% of Adults Uninsured in 2010”, concluded that “Hispanic, low-income, and young adult Americans remain most uninsured” (Mendes, 2011).
* 37% of Hispanic Americans are uninsured.
* 26.4% of those earning less than $36,000 annually
* 27.2% of those aged 18-26
Under the new law most of these people would be eligible for health

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