Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the official shortened term for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. The ACA was designed to be the first major overhaul of the U.S. healthcare industry since the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The goal of the ACA was to see that every American had health insurance coverage. Paper Masters can compose a custom written research paper on Affordable Care Act that follows your guidelines.

Affordable Care Act

Passed

Passed in 2010 and scheduled to go into effect in January 2014, the ACA was one of the most politically controversial pieces of legislation in decades. Under the ACA:

• Medicare availability was expanded for individuals at 138% of federal poverty levels
• State-based insurance exchanges were created in order to provide coverage for individuals and families.
• Federal subsidies were put in place to help people pay for coverage at levels between 100 and 400% of poverty levels.

ACA

Part of the ACA includes an individual mandate. Individuals without health insurance by March 31, 2014 will be subject to a penalty. Several new insurance standards are also put in place, including the inability of insurance companies to deny coverage for preexisting conditions, or their inability to drop patients when they become sick.

The ACA was designed to produce lower health insurance premiums for all Americans in order to produce a society that has equal access to the medical system. Despite continued controversy, the ACA became law on January 1, 2014.