Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed by President Barack Obama and passed by the United States legislative March of 2010. This Act was created in order reform the current health care system. The Affordable Care Act covers a multitude of individuals including: low income individuals, disabled, children, terminally ill, and employees. This law focuses on expanding insurance coverage, controlling the cost of health care services, treatments, bills, etc., and improve the access of health care to these individuals. Preventative health care is a major concern in the American health care system and the PPACA helps promote prevention. This Act allows for easier access to preventative services within communities and health

The US does implement multiple aspects of its fellow ally countries health insurance systems into its' own. Through the decades, the United States has enacted multiple Bills and Acts to be able to provide and aide it's citizens with health care costs and services. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(PPACA) is one of these more recent measures in health insurance plans. America is one of the few industrialized countries that does not have an adequate, centralized healthcare system. With its fragmented system, the World Health Organization (WHO) “ranked the U.S. health care system as the highest in cost, 37th in overall performance, and 72nd in overall level of health among 191-member nations” (Rak & Coffin, 2013). With America falling behind other industrialized countries’ healthcare systems, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(PPACA), shortened to The Affordable Care Act and nicknamed Obamacare, was created. The PPACA was signed in March of 2010 by President Barack Obama and enacted by the 111th United States Congress, then approved by the Supreme Court on June 28, 2012. Even with controversy, the Act was still passed to be able to help all United States Americans receive the healthcare they

Those who benefit the most are uninsured Americans who can’t afford insurance. Since 2000, the number of uninsured Americans has increased while the cost of health insurance has also increased. “Groups that have historically been at the greatest risk for lacking insurance — young adults, Hispanics, blacks, and those with low incomes” (Blumenthal, Abrams, & Nuzum, 2015) are able to receive aide they might not have been able to receive before. Some of those uninsured Americans also have preexisting conditions but can't afford health care when their premium is too high because of the conditions. These preexisting conditions include terminal illnesses and chronic conditions. The Act ensures that the sick and injured will be protected from financial problems and debt because of these high premiums. “If fully implemented the PPACA would eventually extend coverage to approximately 30 million people who would otherwise go uninsured.” (Sonfield & Pollack, 2013). This will also aide uninsured children, parents, and childless adults, who are eligible for Medicaid. Employees and their families will also benefit from the PPAC. It will make it “mandatory for employers to provide insurance coverage” (Rak & Coffin, 2013) Employers with more than 50 employees will be required to offer health care benefits and insurance coverage to it's employers or be subject to a tax