Past Successes, Future Challenges of the Affordable Care Act

November 11, 2015 - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was first passed into law in 2010. Over the last five years, there has been ongoing debate and political action taken to combat the Act and essentially destroy the legislation. The Supreme Court has had to make several decisions as to whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional.

In the latest King vs. Burwell Supreme Court decision, the Affordable Care Act was once again supported and it may become more difficult over the years for conservative candidates to take down this legislation, according to the Health Affairs publication.

When it comes to the future of the Affordable Care Act, it seems that the end to criticism and the fight against the legislation may be coming to an end, but this change won’t happen immediately. Right now, there are still Republican presidential candidates that are attempting to decry some of the regulations within the Affordable Care Act, but this is not expected to last.

With more Supreme Court decisions supporting the ACA, it is expected that future court cases will diminish. Presently, the ACA has led to the decreased rates of uninsured Americans throughout the nation. It is expected that this will only continue throughout the future.

Young adults under 26 years of age are able to be covered by their parents’ health insurance plans due to the Affordable Care Act and those with a preexisting condition will now no longer be denied access to medical coverage as well. While there are many benefits to the ACA, there are still some future challenges standing in the way of healthcare reform.

The Health Affairs article goes into detail about the need to improve overall medical care. This includes preventing unnecessary, wasteful tests or treatments, improving the quality of care, increasing access to care, and lowering costs.

Additionally, it is important to close any gaps in healthcare coverage among those living below the poverty line. Today, there are still 21 states offering no medical insurance to adults living under the poverty line. Also, it’s vital to create a better system for patients in which out-of-pocket costs are affordable.

The Brookings Institution also reported that the Affordable Care Act will survive any future attacks on it by any opponents. The future of the Affordable Care Act should continue to add to the slowdown of rising healthcare costs, the publication claims. Both bundled payments and Accountable Care Organizations are likely to contribute to the slowdown of spending.

“For nearly all Americans, U.S. health insurance ‘markets’ have been markets in name only. It may come as a surprise, but Medicare beneficiaries are the only large group that currently has a wide choice among plans. They typically may choose among many private health plans under Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare for their basic coverage. And those enrolled in traditional Medicare may choose among clearly defined alternative plans for so-called ‘medi-gap’ coverage,” The Brookings brief stated.

“In contrast, workers who receive health insurance as a fringe benefit of employment typically are offered only one or a few plans. Before enactment of the ACA, individuals in the non-group market typically faced a bewildering array of alternatives with myriad subtle differences that made informed comparison virtually impossible.”

“The ACA has created the possibility of genuine competition in the individual insurance market. It creates health insurance exchanges that can structure insurance offerings and present information in a clear and comprehensible fashion. Nothing like this existed in the past, with the exception of the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program for federal civil servants and their families.”