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The United States Healthcare System Essay

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Overview of the United States Healthcare System
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or ‘Obamacare’ in 2010 and its implementation in 2014, there has been a steady decline in the uninsured population of the United States of America. According to recent data from the Census Bureau , the number of uninsured Americans fell from 33 million in 2013 to 29 million in 2014, a drop of about 4-percentage points. Accordingly, the ACA has significantly reduced the number of Americans who were not able to acquire health insurance due to poverty, unemployment, or having a pre-existing condition. Coverage achieved through direct purchase on the marketplace, and Medicaid, accounted for the biggest gains in the health insurance rates. Despite these gains, the Affordable Care Act is still experiencing a multitude of challenges. For instance, some states like Texas refused to expand Medicaid eligibility for low-income individuals below the poverty rate, undocumented immigrants not covered under the open marketplace and Medicaid options and the increasing cost of health insurance premiums. According to Rovner, (2016), the main objective of the Affordable Care Act was to reduce the number of Americans without health insurance coverage. Referencing the Census Bureau, she argues that the rate of the uninsured has dropped from 10.4% to 9.1% in the first year of implementation. Also between 2013 and 2015,the uninsured rate dropped by 4%. The total number of uninsured

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