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Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as the healthcare reform, Obamacare, and Affordable Care Act (ACA), was signed into law on March 23, 2010 (Hebda & Czar, 2013), which considerably transformed health care in the United States. The (ACA) set new rules and standards on the offering, administration, and acceptance of healthcare coverage in the United States. The Affordable Care Act regulates healthcare providers, insurance companies, individuals, and employers (LMBC Family of Companies, 2019).

The ACA's predominating aim is to decrease federal government expenditure on health care. In 2009, Medicare and Medicaid cost $676 billion or 10.4 percent of the budget. These costs would double by 2020 to 20 percent of the budget (Amadeo, 2019). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act made insurance available to each American, something that has never before been accomplished. Obamacare will cut the number of uninsured Americans by more than half, and increased access to health insurance, protect patients against arbitrary actions by insurance companies, and decrease costs (International Association of Fire Fighters [IAFF], 2019). Beginning in 2014, the ACA requires individuals to have health insurance or pay a penalty if they do not have insurance (IAFF, 2019).

Individuals will have to prove they have health insurance. Health insurance plans will present papers to people they insure that will be utilized to confirm they have coverage mandated by law. A penalty is in place for individuals who decline insurance is the greater of two amounts: a specified percentage of income or a specified dollar amount. The percentages of income are to be phased in over time at 1% in 2014, 2% in 2015, and 2.5% starting in 2016. The dollar amounts are also phased in at $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, and $695 beginning in 2016 with annual increases after that (          )

Many are opposed to the ACA. The House of Representatives and U.S. District Court Judge voted to repeal the law multiple times. Lawsuits disputed that all U.S. citizens must obtain health care insurance from a private carrier, or pay a penalty, was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled it was constitutional, under Congress' right to impose a tax. In 2018, Congress repealed the mandate with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (IAFF, 2019). As for now, (ACA) will remain in place while Congress battles it out which can take years to determine.

References:

Amadeo, K. (2019). 2010 Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act summary. Retrieved from: https://www.thebalance.com/2010-patient-protection-affordable-care-act-3306063

Hebda, T. & Czar, P. (2013). Handbook of informatics for nurses and health care         professionals. (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) (2019). Frequently asked questions (FAQs). Retrieved from: http://www.iaff.org/healthcare/media/faqs.pdf

LBMC Family of Companies (2019). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from: https://www.lbmc.com/blog/the-patient-protection-affordable-care-act