Affordable Care Act Research Paper

In 2010, the United States created The Affordable Care Act (ACA). The objective was to share the responsibility of costs between the government, individuals, and employers to provide affordable access to quality health insurance. “However, health coverage remains fragmented, with numerous private and public sources, as well as wide gaps in insured rates across the U.S. population.” (“United States: International Health Care System Profiles,” n.d.). Each individual state within the US, generally has control over private insurance.

Health care insurance in the U.S. is extremely competitive and not always fair. Recently in 2012, The Affordable Care Act passed by Barack Obama set new regulations regarding insurance. According to this Act, employers of 50+ employees must offer health insurance, public health insurance such as Medicare and Medicaid was made affordable for those that qualify, it is illegal for anyone to be denied insurance due to pre-existing conditions, and everyone must have health insurance or they will endure tax penalties. For Medicare and Medicaid, each state has different qualifications regarding eligibility. Private health insurance is not mandatory, but many of those that can afford it prefer it because it will cover more than any government insurance. Private health insurance also offers family plans along with single plans(varying from company to company), which will definitely attract middle to high income families. Health insurance is an absolute essential in the U.S. as it is up to the citizen to obtain one that works for them.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a health care reform law that was voted into enactment in March of 2010 (Summary of the Affordable Care Act, 2013). The ACA consists of many different parts of which come from the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the Patient Protection Act various parts of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (Affordable Care Act Summary, n.d.). The original goal of the ACA was to cut back on the amount of dollars that was being spent on health care

The United States has multiple opportunities for insurance coverage for people. There are many private insurance companies to insure Americans. There are also government assistant agencies such as: Medicare, Medicaid and Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (Commonwealth Fund, 2013). Persons must apply and qualify for any government assisted programs for healthcare.

Health care is one of the major political issues facing the nation today. Most industrialized countries have national healthcare system, while the United States only provide coverage for those who are eligible under government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. As the cost of health care to continue to increase, many question the role of the government while other blame insurance companies for increase in premium.

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare or ACA, is the health reform law enacted in 2010 by Congress. The official name of this reform is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Many provisions of the law are already in effect and the rest are going to continue to develop until 2022. After a year of intense political wrangling, the health reform initiative was passed by Congress. Even though it falls short of providing universal coverage, it is unlike the Clinton proposal. The Affordable Care Act was intended to expand US citizens’ and legal residents’ access to health insurance coverage, control future costs, and improve the functioning of the healthcare delivery system. It improves access to care and balances spending through regulations and taxes. Healthcare has always been a crisis in the US and the Affordable Care Act contains hundreds of different provisions that address these aspects. The Affordable Care Act increases the quality of health insurance at an affordable price so all Americans can have access to it. In exchange, most people who can afford to obtain health coverage must by 2014 or pay a per month fee. The ACA offers Americans a number of new benefits. It sets up a Health Insurance Marketplace where we can purchase federally regulated and subsidized Health Insurance during open enrollment. It expands Medicaid to all adults in many states, as well as improving Medicare for seniors and those with long term disabilities. Obamacare expands

There are four different levels of insurance that the consumer has the option to choose from. The Bronze level is the cheapest and will provide 60% of benefits under the health plan. Next, is the Silver level that will provide 70% of benefits, and the cost is more expensive. Next, is the Gold level that provides 80 % of benefits, and costs is still more expensive. The Platinum level is the highest, which provides 90% of benefits, and is the most expensive of all the health plans. “Under ObamaCare, your primary point of contact regarding health insurance and health care services will be your state health exchange” (Taylor 40). Medicaid services will be expanded to consumers with incomes less than $14,000 person annually or family’s income less than $29,000 annually. At the market place insurance companies will compete against one another, which will benefit the consumer. The insurance companies that charge higher rates than their competitors will be driven out of business. The government will provide tax credits to consumers that have an annual income from 14,000 to

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the new health care reform law in America, which is often called Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a short for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). According to the Affordable Care Act summary, “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is made up of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the Patient Protection Act, and the health care related sections of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. It also includes amendments to other laws like the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act and the Health and Public Services Act.”(2015). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made sure that access to health care is increased, and it

President Obama signed The Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010. The goal of the Affordable Care Act was to provide health care for all Americans and to help control the growth in health care spending. In addition to health insurance reforms, the Affordable Care Act includes tax provisions that affect individuals, families, businesses, insurers, tax-exempt organizations and government entities. These new tax provisions impact health insurance provided by employers.

Since the early days of our nation, our founding fathers thrived for change. At the peak of his election campaign, Barack Obama promised the change the country had been longing for. He promised a health care reform and new benefits. Many presidents elected after the signing of Roosevelt’s New Deal had tried to achieve health care reform but ultimately none succeeded. Obama promised change; his change came under the name of the Affordable Care Act, a bill that was filled with empty promises. The Affordable Care Act, nicknamed “Obamacare” was supposed to benefit all Americans but instead of helping our nation's citizens, it burdened them. It burdened them with higher taxes, less hours of work, and higher costs

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. The number of Americans with health insurance, has reached a historic peak. According to recent data from the Census Bureau about health insurance coverage, the number of uninsured Americans fell from 33 million the year prior to ACA implementation to 29 million in 2014.The total uninsured rate dropped by more than 4 percent since the health care law took effect. 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.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a very controversial topic that I never quite understood until I got to read the supplemental chapter untitled “The Affordable Care Act: A Brief History, Assessment, and Future Challenges.” Throughout this paper, I will be answering five questions about the ACA. The first question has to do with listing and explaining three demographics that contributed to disparities in health insurance coverage prior to the ACA. There were many demographics that contributed to disparities in health insurance coverage in America prior to the adaption of the Affordable Care Act. Some of those demographics had to do with race, age, citizenship, or region of the country. One of them had to do with racial demographics, which

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.

For Americans, health care coverage depends primarily on whether health insurance is provided by their employer or through two major public programs, Medicaid for the poor and Medicare for the elderly.

It is a patchwork of loosely connected financing mechanisms varying in terms of sponsorship and provider type. It also reflects the age, health and economic status of the specific patient groups that are being served. Considering the growing number of Americans who are uninsured for health care and the low ranking of the United States among a variety of health indicators, one may say that it is a disappointing financing system. These observations provide a basis for supporting our position for a national health care system. Where possible, comparisons will be drawn between the United States and other countries. Special focus will be paid to similarities in the public and private financing components of the system, reimbursement of various provider categories and trends that we may expect to see in the future.