How the Affordable Care Act is Working
Across the United States, millions of Americans are experiencing the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. They are benefiting from the elimination of lifetime limits on coverage, protections for those with pre-existing conditions, measures that ban discrimination against women, and other critical patient protections.
Open enrollment through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace is also off to a strong start. More than 765,000 individuals signed up in the opening two weeks of the 2015 enrollment window.
In one year, 10.6 million uninsured Americans received quality healthcare coverage.
Between September, 2013 and September, 2014, the uninsured rate in the United States dropped from 17.6 percent to 12.5 percent, according to the Urban Institute Report. The majority of these gains were among low- and middle-income families targeted by the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid and Marketplace provisions.
Consumers shopping for federal Health Insurance Marketplace plans for 2015 are finding even more options and savings.
Over 25 percent more issuers are participating in the Marketplace for 2015 plans. Approximately 91 percent of consumers will be able to choose from three or more issuers, up from 74 percent of those who shopped for 2014 plans. Kaiser Health News has found this type of surge in competition among health insurers will help restrain premium increases in hundreds of counties next year.
The Department of Health & Human Services finds 65 percent of current Marketplace enrollees can get coverage for $100 or less in 2015, after tax credits, if they shop for a more affordable plan within their plan’s current metal level (bronze, silver, gold).
Health care spending has continued to slow and more Americans are able to access insurance coverage to help pay for preventive care services.
A national health expenditure report released by the Office of the Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that health spending grew at a rate of 3.6 percent last year, marking the lowest rate since 1960 for the period between 2011 and 2013. Additionally, the report showed health spending continued a pattern of low growth, between 3.6 and 4.1 percent, for five consecutive years and total national health spending slowed from 4.1 percent growth (2012) to 3.6 percent (2013).
The Affordable Care Act’s provisions aimed at reducing hospital errors are working and saving lives.
The Obama Administration released a report stating, “50,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and $12 billion in ‘health care costs were saved’ due in part to initiatives woven into the Affordable Care Act that helped reduce hospital-acquired infections from 2012 to 2013.” There were 1.3 million fewer hospital-acquired conditions between 2010 and 2013.
