With the rise of medical costs, it’s more essential than ever, to have health insurance. Without insurance, a simple trip to your primary doctor for the flu or bloodwork can send you home with more than a diagnosis and prescription. You can wind up with a sizeable bill you weren’t expecting or maybe even can’t afford. Millions of people have lived without health insurance due to the price. During Obama’s presidency, the government felt everyone, individuals and families alike, should have healthcare coverage. A plan was derived, and the bill was passed and ultimately signed into law by the president in March of 2010. The bill is known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or, “Obamacare,” and its response to public health emergencies has helped to reduce the number of uninsured Americans.
Before the Affordable Care Act
The number of people covered under a health plan at any given time has always waxed and waned. For many, the ups and downs of the economy could play a role in whether insurance was affordable. For others, coverage could be harder to obtain if there was a pre-existing medical condition that disqualified the applicant from gaining coverage with a private company. Most companies, or, group plans would not deny pre-existing conditions. However, private insurance could, and would deny coverage for many different types of pre-existing medical conditions. Some people choose not to carry health insurance, feeling they are healthy, and rarely go to the doctor. Why pay high, monthly insurance premiums when it would be cheaper to pay for a period of doctor appointments out-of-pocket? With so many different reasons for people not to have health coverage, the number of uninsured has climbed. Before the ACA, there were estimated to be a staggering 44 million people who were living without health insurance.
Multiple plans offered
Health insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind of benefit. Like auto insurance, people have different needs regarding the type of coverage they need and the amount of money they can afford. The ACA put together four major healthcare package choices: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The plans vary in the types of coverage and benefits you receive. While some packages may have lower premiums, the co-pays may be higher. Another plan may offer more hospital coverage while another plan offers better coverage for out-patient procedures. The ACA bill felt that four plans to choose from, gave people more flexibility when choosing coverage for themself, or their family.
The Affordable Care Act: Mandates
The ACA required everyone to get coverage. If you didn’t, you would be penalized. The mandate was made to have a more diverse group of people covered, from infants and children to single people, young adults, and the elderly, Despite the rebuke against the penalty, the mandate nudged more and more people to enroll in a health plan.
What penalty would you pay?
The ACA bill mandated that you buy health insurance. With the overhauled legislature making it illegal for insurance companies to deny people for any reason, including pre-existing conditions, the government felt like there was no excuse for anyone to not get coverage. Therefore, a penalty would be enforced on those who didn’t comply. The penalty was made at tax time. At the end of each year, you had to show proof you had health insurance throughout the year. If you did not, you were penalized with a higher tax payment if you owed. Or you had a reduction in your tax refund if you were due one by the IRS.
There were only a few exemptions to the penalty:
- Illegal immigrants
- Those on a state-funded Medicaid plan
- Households where coverage would cost over 8% of their total income
- Citizens who reside in states that opted out of Medicaid expansion and they don’t qualify for subsidized or Medicaid coverage
Why was the law opposed?
Not everyone was in favor of the new law. A large number of people opposed the ACA due to a few concerns:
1. Government involvement
For many Americans, less government is better. Many people do not like having the government involved in too many aspects of their personal lives, especially when it comes to something as personal as your health. Many feel that the ACA has overstepped boundaries by trying to control how people choose to insure or choose not to insure, themselves and their families.
2. Many people lost their former doctors
Due to the reconstruction of health insurance and the rigidity of the new bill, many people were forced to find new doctors. And this didn’t sit well with many people.
3. Penalties
Nobody wants to be penalized for anything, especially when that penalty hits you in the wallet. The penalties can be stiff if you choose not to buy into the ACA insurance market. If you don’t fall into one of the exemption categories, you can expect to have to pay for that choice at tax time.
4. Too expensive
Many citizens found the premiums with the ACA plans, way too high for their budget.
Who benefited most from the Affordable Care Act?
There are plenty who have benefited from the ACA. The biggest group of people are those who fall in the low-income tax bracket. The Affordable Care Act allowed low-income citizens to have the healthcare coverage they needed when they couldn’t obtain it from their employer, or afford a private insurance premium.
The other group is those with pre-existing medical conditions. Companies can no longer turn anyone down, no matter what medical condition they have when applying. It’s now against the law to refuse them.
Overall, the ACA has helped to boost healthcare coverage in our country. However, despite the overall increase in coverage, there is still a large number of people who aren’t covered. Studies have determined the majority of people who still lack coverage fall into three main categories: low-income, under 35, or Latino.
The goal of the ACA was to provide basic healthcare to as many people as possible, and it still aims to do so.
With the rise of medical costs, it’s more essential than ever, to have health insurance. Without insurance, a simple trip to your primary doctor for the flu or bloodwork can send you home with more than a diagnosis and prescription. You can wind up with a sizeable bill you weren’t expecting or maybe even can’t afford. Millions of people have lived without health insurance due to the price. During Obama’s presidency, the government felt everyone, individuals and families alike, should have healthcare coverage. A plan was derived, and the bill was passed and ultimately signed into law by the president in March of 2010. The bill is known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or, “Obamacare,” and its response to public health emergencies has helped to reduce the number of uninsured Americans.
Before the Affordable Care Act
The number of people covered under a health plan at any given time has always waxed and waned. For many, the ups and downs of the economy could play a role in whether insurance was affordable. For others, coverage could be harder to obtain if there was a pre-existing medical condition that disqualified the applicant from gaining coverage with a private company. Most companies, or, group plans would not deny pre-existing conditions. However, private insurance could, and would deny coverage for many different types of pre-existing medical conditions. Some people choose not to carry health insurance, feeling they are healthy, and rarely go to the doctor. Why pay high, monthly insurance premiums when it would be cheaper to pay for a period of doctor appointments out-of-pocket? With so many different reasons for people not to have health coverage, the number of uninsured has climbed. Before the ACA, there were estimated to be a staggering 44 million people who were living without health insurance.
Multiple plans offered
Health insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind of benefit. Like auto insurance, people have different needs regarding the type of coverage they need and the amount of money they can afford. The ACA put together four major healthcare package choices: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The plans vary in the types of coverage and benefits you receive. While some packages may have lower premiums, the co-pays may be higher. Another plan may offer more hospital coverage while another plan offers better coverage for out-patient procedures. The ACA bill felt that four plans to choose from, gave people more flexibility when choosing coverage for themself, or their family.
The Affordable Care Act: Mandates
The ACA required everyone to get coverage. If you didn’t, you would be penalized. The mandate was made to have a more diverse group of people covered, from infants and children to single people, young adults, and the elderly, Despite the rebuke against the penalty, the mandate nudged more and more people to enroll in a health plan.
What penalty would you pay?
The ACA bill mandated that you buy health insurance. With the overhauled legislature making it illegal for insurance companies to deny people for any reason, including pre-existing conditions, the government felt like there was no excuse for anyone to not get coverage. Therefore, a penalty would be enforced on those who didn’t comply. The penalty was made at tax time. At the end of each year, you had to show proof you had health insurance throughout the year. If you did not, you were penalized with a higher tax payment if you owed. Or you had a reduction in your tax refund if you were due one by the IRS.
There were only a few exemptions to the penalty:
- Illegal immigrants
- Those on a state-funded Medicaid plan
- Households where coverage would cost over 8% of their total income
- Citizens who reside in states that opted out of Medicaid expansion and they don’t qualify for subsidized or Medicaid coverage
Why was the law opposed?
Not everyone was in favor of the new law. A large number of people opposed the ACA due to a few concerns:
1. Government involvement
For many Americans, less government is better. Many people do not like having the government involved in too many aspects of their personal lives, especially when it comes to something as personal as your health. Many feel that the ACA has overstepped boundaries by trying to control how people choose to insure or choose not to insure, themselves and their families.
2. Many people lost their former doctors
Due to the reconstruction of health insurance and the rigidity of the new bill, many people were forced to find new doctors. And this didn’t sit well with many people.
3. Penalties
Nobody wants to be penalized for anything, especially when that penalty hits you in the wallet. The penalties can be stiff if you choose not to buy into the ACA insurance market. If you don’t fall into one of the exemption categories, you can expect to have to pay for that choice at tax time.
4. Too expensive
Many citizens found the premiums with the ACA plans, way too high for their budget.
Who benefited most from the Affordable Care Act?
There are plenty who have benefited from the ACA. The biggest group of people are those who fall in the low-income tax bracket. The Affordable Care Act allowed low-income citizens to have the healthcare coverage they needed when they couldn’t obtain it from their employer, or afford a private insurance premium.
The other group is those with pre-existing medical conditions. Companies can no longer turn anyone down, no matter what medical condition they have when applying. It’s now against the law to refuse them.
Overall, the ACA has helped to boost healthcare coverage in our country. However, despite the overall increase in coverage, there is still a large number of people who aren’t covered. Studies have determined the majority of people who still lack coverage fall into three main categories: low-income, under 35, or Latino.
The goal of the ACA was to provide basic healthcare to as many people as possible, and it still aims to do so.
 was introduced to provide basic healthcare to as many people as possible, regardless of status or income
' ,'https://financialaidcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/shutterstock_370390046-scaled-1.jpg')){kind=link}