The Affordable Care Act of 2010 allowed millions of Americans affordable access to health insurance plans. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is also known as Obamacare, and it enables Americans to access insurance by necessitating insurers to allow all applicants charges based on population averages irrespective of their health status. It also increased state funding for Medicaid that provides cover for everyone above the poverty line and subsidized private insurance for persons who do not have workplace coverage.
The Affordable care act provides many advantages and disadvantages. One of the benefits the Affordable care act is that it increased the funding for persons with pre-existing health conditions such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and cancer amongst others (Brown and McBride 1). Another advantage of the Obamacare is that it provides preventive health services and wellness visits for Americans without burdening the citizens with out of pocket costs allowing treatment before they even require emergency health services which is expensive. The Affordable Care Act expanded the Medicaid eligibility in over 26 states allowing dependents to stay covered by their parent’s health care coverage until the age 0f 26 and requires all large business to offer health plans for full-time employees. It made access to health insurance options more accessible through the use of online health marketplaces known as exchanges where one can compare and buy federally regulated health plans.
Affordable Care Act has some drawbacks which include heavy tax penalties for individuals who are not insured. Another downside for the ACA is the loss of company-sponsored health plans as many businesses prefer paying the penalty rather than having to pay insurance for their employees. The increasing cost of premiums due to lack of competition in health insurance due to increased insurance cancelations and increasing costs (Elizabeth and Manouchehr 1). Regardless of the Affordable Care Act shortcomings it has improved and expanded access to healthcare for millions of Americans and regulated the health insurance industry.
- Elizabeth, Dolan and Mokhtari Manouchehr. “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): Pros and Cons.” Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Vol. 34, no. 1, 2013, p. 1-3.
- Brown, Derek S., and Timothy D. McBride. “Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Access to Care for US Adults With Diabetes, 2011–2012.” Preventing Chronic Disease, Vol. 12, no.64, 2015, p.1-10
