Enrollment in plans through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces broke last year’s record, with particularly high growth in Florida, Texas and Georgia.
Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a healthcare reform law that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. The main goal of Obamacare is to make healthcare accessible and affordable for all Americans.
The law introduced several key provisions aimed at achieving this goal, including:
- Expansion of Medicaid: Obamacare expanded eligibility for Medicaid, a government-sponsored health insurance program for low-income individuals and families, to include more people.
- Health insurance marketplaces: Obamacare established online marketplaces where individuals and small businesses can compare and purchase health insurance plans.
- Individual mandate: Obamacare requires most individuals to have health insurance coverage or pay a penalty.
- Protections for people with pre-existing conditions: Obamacare prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage or charging higher premiums to individuals with pre-existing health conditions.
- Preventive care: Obamacare requires most health insurance plans to cover preventive care services, such as vaccines and cancer screenings, at no cost to the patient.
Obamacare has been the subject of political and legal challenges since its inception, and its future remains uncertain. Despite this, the law has had a significant impact on the healthcare system in the US, providing access to insurance coverage for millions of Americans who previously lacked it.