Many of you probably heard the term ‘ObamaCare’. So what exactly does Barack Obama have to do with healthcare? Obamacare is actually a name given to the Affordable Care Act by the media. Obama is associated with the Affordable Care Act because it was a corner stone of his presidency and one of his main focuses during his time in office.
Healthcare is one of the largest costs to everyday consumers each year and the ACA was focused on reducing the increase in costs for the average American. The legislation was put into place in 2010 and is still playing a major role in the healthcare we receive today.
The ultimate goal of the ACA was ensure all citizens of the US received healthcare. In the past, insurers could turn new customers away if they had pre-existing ailments or diseases. They would turn these people away because they were likely to cost a significant amount of money to the insurer.
Obamacare ultimately was successful, seeing many previously uninsured people have access to healthcare. It also prevented certain costs of healthcare from continue to grow. Unfortunately, in 2017, Congress passed a bill called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which limited the power of the ACA. This has lead to healthcare costs going up again and hurting the average American.
Healthcare remains a key topic within politics as we head into 2020 elections. The Republicans and Democrats do not see eye to eye when it comes to ACA. It will most likely continue to be reformed and depending on how the 2020 election goes, it could drastically affect the access we all as Americans have to cost efficient healthcare.