Timeline for the ACA Reform

The term Health care reform was associated with the Affordable Care Act which was introduced by the US president Barack Obama in the year 2010, to seek full on reform in the field of health care in the US. The main aim of passing the Obamacare Act was to provide affordable and premium quality health care for all the citizens who previously weren’t entitled to such privilege due to various reasons. By doing so the Act intended to curb the expenditure of an average American citizen in paying their medical bills. Since then this Act is growing at a steady pace incorporating a major chunk of the society into its fold.

A common thing that comes to mind after hearing about health care reform is that why does the American Health Care system needs to be reformed in the first place, as the US is currently the richest among the world. Below are some of the reasons

1. Studies revealed that more than 40 million Americans were living without any form of Health Insurance before the Obamacare Act was introduced. This was mainly due to the high premium amounts that were charged previously.
2. The Medicaid program contained a loophole in case of prescription drugs, as it did not cover it. This left many senior citizens incapable of affording proper treatment due to lack of financial options to pay for the costly drugs.
3. Rooting out all forms of discrimination and premature dropping of insurance coverage for no significant reasons or during times of medical emergencies on the part of the insurance providers or denial of payments after reaching the maximum yearly limit.
4. Enforcing large scale businesses to pay for their employee’s medical coverage.

Timeline

2010:

1. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was officially signed by the then US President Barack Obama.
2. Children till the age of 26 were to be covered under their parents plan.
3. Medicaid Part D was amended.

2012: The law was upheld in the court of justice and sanctioned by the Supreme Court of the United States.

2013: The Act was officially rolled into the Marketplace and citizens were officially allowed to enroll for an insurance plan offered at the Marketplace website.

2014:

1. Insurance companies were mandated to provide coverage to people who have pre-existing health disorders like cancer or last stage kidney failures and reprimanded for not renewing policy after settling the claims.
2. The premium rates started to be determined by the size of the family, place of residence and use of tobacco.
3. All insurance plans were to be categorized under 4 main tiers, namely Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
4. Childless adults were also brought under the protective folder of Medicaid.

2018:

Tax amounting to 40% was imposed on the insurance companies who provide Cadillac insurance plans.

2020:

The loophole in the Medicaid plan will be reintroduced forcing the senior citizens to pay for the prescription drugs once again until they reach the maximum threshold limit.