Affordable Care Act Facts

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Facts

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010; The Affordable Care Act, or ACA for short, is a bill that was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The new health care law includes reforms to health insurance and the way the health care industry is run in the US. This Affordable Care Act fact guide is meant to help you understand how the law affects Americans and their health care.

The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 which includes the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act are amendments to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. When we talk about "ObamaCare" or the Affordable Care Act we are referring to all these aspects.

Affordable Care Act Facts: What Does the Affordable Care Act Do?

The Health Care Reform laid out in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to greatly increase the amount of Americans who have access to affordable health insurance. This is done by expanding Medicaid to Americas poorest, providing tax credits to employers who cover their employees, providing tax credits to individuals who need help paying for insurance, reforming the health care industry to reign in excess spending, taxing higher earners and the health care industry and opening up competitive regulated online health insurance exchange online market place where individuals can buy insurance.

Affordable Heatlh Care Affordable Health Insurance

Under the Affordable Care Act will require that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare (or pay a tax if they choose to opt out). Affordable health care is defined as costing 8% or less of annual income. The Affordable Care Act also reforms the Medicare and Medicaid as well as the other aspects of the healthcare system including the rates which insurance companies and private healthcare facilities receive as well as patents rights to health care.

Additional Details on The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates that insurance plans cover preventive services to help people stay healthy, prohibits insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get sick, prevents billing people into bankruptcy because of annual or lifetime limits placed on care, and discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions. Regardless of your stance on ObamaCare, most of us can agree on these basic rights when it comes to health care.

Part of understanding Obamacare is understanding the Affordable Care Act and of course the best way to understand the Affordable Care Act is to take the time to read it for yourself. Don't just listen to the main stream, make up your own mind about Obama Care and the Affordable Care Act. Read The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in it's Entirety Right Here!

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will help provide insurance to 32 million Americans without health insurance by 2019. Most of the funding will come from reforming current healthcare overspending on programs that don't work.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Summary

Summary Coverage Offered by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Since President Barack Obama signed The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010 a number of healthcare reforms have been offering new provisions and new mandates in regards to the American Healthcare system. The following summary includes only part of the coverage offered under ObamaCare.

• Most Americans will be required to have health insurance starting in 2014

• Americans who cannot obtain affordable health care through employer coverage will be able to purchase insurance through a Health Insurance Exchange with premium and cost-sharing credits available to those who cannot afford health insurance on their own. The cost of providing those who cannot afford health insurance will come from wasteful spending occurring as relics of the healthcare system prior to the Affordable Care Act.

• Employers who are not categorized as "small businesses" will pay penalties for employees that they do not cover. This, in most cases, will not raise the costs that the businesses currently pay providing health insurance to employees, although it may have minimal costs for those companies who currently do not provide health insurance to their employees.

• Regulations under the Affordable Care Act will prevent health insurance companies from denying coverage for any reason or changing a higher premium based on health or gender.

• Medicaid will be expanded to 133% of the federal poverty level ($14,404 for an individual and $29,327 for a family of four in 2009) for all individuals under age 65.

• 32 Million Americans who currently do not have healthcare will have healthcare by 2019.

• The amount the Affordable Care act saves by cutting costs from health care programs that aren't working is estimated to reduce the national deficit by $124 billion by 2019.

The Affordable Care Act 2013 and Beyond

The Affordable Care Act will continue to trickle out HealthCare reform until 2020. The affordable insurance exchanges will open on Oct, 1st 2013 and begin to offer affordable health insurance to low and middle income families. In the meantime the ACA is already offering a number of protections and benefits to all Americans. Find out more about what the Affordable Care Act has to offer in our Health Care Reform Timeline.