Obama Care

The first title states that the Affordable Care Act puts individuals, families and small business owners in control of their own healthcare.

The Affordable Care Act reduces what most people will pay for healthcare by capping out of pocket expenses and requiring all preventative care to be fully-covered and without cost to the individual.

Nothing in the ACA forces any American to have healthcare or to drop their current healthcare plan, assuming that plan complies with the ACA or retains a grandfathered status if signed before the bill became law.

The ACA creates a competitive insurance market (now known as the health insurance marketplace) and all Americans will be able to choose their insurance out of these plans. Since everyone has access to the same care through the Affordable Care Act it helps to ensure that all Americans receive quality healthcare. Those wishing to purchase private health insurance are able to do so with all the added benefits and protections of the new law.

All participants in the exchanges pay into the Affordable Care Act, the insurance exchange pools buying power allowing individuals to better afford private insurance plans. These plans have to compete for your business, thus helping to regulate cost and quality.

Small business owners are able to purchase their own coverage, and can receive tax credits for up to 50% of the cost of their employees health insurance making it easier to give their employees benefits.

The Affordable Care Act keeps insurance companies honest by setting clear rules that rein in the worst insurance industry abuses.  And it bans insurance companies from denying insurance coverage because of a person's pre-existing medical conditions while giving consumers new power to appeal insurance company decisions that deny doctor ordered treatments covered by insurance.

Some aspects of the law that went into effect starting in 2010: American families and small business owners have begun to experience the benefits of this common-sense reform:

• New Affordable Choices:

Uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions will finally have the choice of quality, affordable insurance through a new insurance pool;

Small business owners will be eligible for billions in tax credits to help offer insurance coverage to employees;

New plans will have to offer preventive care and immunizations at no cost;

New plans and certain existing plans that offer dependent coverage will have to cover an enrollee's dependent children until age 26;

A re-insurance program for employers that offer health insurance to their early retirees will save as much as $1,200 for every family enrolled.

• More Power for Consumers:

A new website to help consumers  compare different insurance coverage options along with state-by-state health care consumer assistance and ombudsman for any of their health insurance questions;

A new independent appeals process for new plans so consumers and patients can appeal insurance company decisions.

• Insurance Company Accountability:

  Prohibits new plans and existing group health plans from denying coverage for children because of a pre-existing medical condition;

  Reviews requested insurance premium increases; health insurers with a pattern of excessive rate increases can be blocked from selling through new insurance exchanges;

  Removes arbitrary lifetime limits on coverage in all plans, and removes restrictive annual limits on benefits in all new plans and existing group health plans so people know that all of the care they need will be paid for;

  Prevents insurance companies from dropping insurance coverage when a person gets sick and needs it most.

  TITLE II - The Role of Public Programs

  The Affordable Care Act extends Medicaid, preserves CHIP (a successful children's insurance plan) and simplifies enrollment.

  It improves community-based care for disabled Americans and provides States the opportunity to expand home care services for people with long term care needs.

  The Act treats all States equally and gives them flexibility to adopt strategies to improve care in coordination with Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

  The Affordable Care Act TITLE II states that it saves the taxpayer money by reducing prescription drug costs and payments to subsidize care for uninsured Americans.

  The Act also gives more Americans access to health insurance greatly increasing the number of Americans who have healthcare.

  Title III. Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care

  The Affordable Care Act preserves, protects and reforms Medicare.

  The ACT closes the coverage gap "donut hole" for drug costs for seniors. Seniors will save thousands of dollars in drug costs due to closing the "donut hole".

  Healthcare institutions and professionals will be incentivized to improve care.

  The Affordable Care Act provides additional health services to rural America.

  The Act ends the overpayment of tens of billions of dollars to insurance companies in order to help protect Medicare.

  Taxpayer dollars are saved by keeping people healthier before joining Medicare, reducing Medicare's need to pay hospitals to care for uninsured patents.

  A team of healthcare experts, and not members of congress, will work together to come up with the best ideas to keep Medicare running by figuring out how to improve the quality of coverage and reduce costs for Medicare.

  Medicare is a sacrosanct trust with America's seniors, and this Act preserves it.

  Title IV. Prevention of Chronic Disease and Improving Public Health

  Title IV promotes prevention, wellness and public health via unprecedented funding.

  The Act uses national prevention and health promotion strategies to work to improve the health of Americans and reduce preventable illness and disability in an effort to keep Americans healthy and keep health care costs down.

  It will make nutritional information more available.

  Co-payments will be waved for preventative measures for seniors.

  The law adds many preventative services for women.

  The law as a whole will save taxpayers by ensuring that people have access to the preventative measures saving millions of lives and reigning in astronomical hospital bills that go unpaid and drive up the cost of healthcare.

  If we want to truly reform health care to benefit American families, we need to transition from a system focused primarily on treating the sick to one that helps keep people well throughout their lives.

  The Act will promote prevention, wellness, and the public health and provides an unprecedented funding commitment to these areas.  It directs the creation of a national prevention and health promotion strategy that incorporates the most effective and achievable methods to improve the health status of Americans and reduce the incidence of preventable illness and disability in the United States.

  The Act relies on the innovation of small businesses and state and local governments to find the best ways to improve wellness in the workplace and in our communities.  And it strengthens America's capacity to respond to public health emergencies.

  The Act empowers families by giving them tools to find the best science-based nutrition information, and it makes prevention and screenings a priority by waiving co-payments for America's seniors on Medicare.

  By attacking disease before it hits, the Act helps to improve health, save lives, and avoid more costly complications down the road.

  Title V Health Care Workforce

  Affordable Health Care Act funds scholarships and loan repayment programs to assist young people with going to school for health care related professions.

  The act promotes much needed jobs in the healthcare industry to prepare for our future thus creating jobs for American workers.

  The Act gives states power to recruit healthcare workers.

  Helps fund and expand community health centers.

  Because doctors, nurses, and other health care providers are the backbone of the health care system, the Act supports and expands our Nation's health care workforce.

  Title VI. Transparency and Program Integrity

  The Affordable Care Act focuses on keeping Americans informed about healthcare.

  Doctor-patient relationships are strengthened via cutting edge medical research and access to more data to allow doctors and patients to make the decisions that work best for them.

  Greater transparency in nursing homes by placing regulations and incentive programs to help improve quality control.

  The Act reins in waste, fraud and abuse by imposing disclosure requirements to identify high-risk providers who have defrauded the American taxpayer.

  States now have the authority to prevent providers who have been penalized in one state from setting up in another.

  It gives states flexibility to propose and test tort reforms that affect patient safety, encourage resolution of disputes and improve liability insurance.

  Title VII. Improving Access to Innovative Medical Therapies

  Extending Discounts on Drugs

  Promoting Medication Price Competition and Innovation

  The Act promotes innovation and saves consumers money. It ends anti-competitive behavior by drug companies that keep effective and affordable generic drugs off the market. It extends drug discounts to hospitals and communities that serve low-income patients. And it creates a pathway for the creation of generic versions of biological drugs so that doctors and patients have access to effective and lower cost alternatives.

  Title VIII. Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act)

  Title VIII establishes a Voluntary, Self-Funding Long-Term Insurance Choice for American Families

  The Act provides Americans with a new option to finance long-term services and care in the event of a disability.

  There is a self-funded and voluntary long-term care insurance choice. Workers will pay in premiums in order to receive a daily cash benefit if they develop a disability. Need will be based on difficulty in performing basic activities such as bathing or dressing.  The benefit is flexible; it could be used for a range of community support services, from respite care to home care.

  No taxpayer funds will be used to pay benefits under this provision. The program will actually reduce Medicaid spending, as people are able to continue working and living in their homes and not enter nursing homes. Safeguards will be put in place to ensure its premiums are enough to cover its costs.

  The CLASS Act was repealed January 1, 2013.

  Title IX. Revenue Provisions

  Improved Enforcement and Closing Tax Loopholes

  Broadened Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Tax Base for High-Income Taxpayers

  Reformed Excise Tax on Insurance Companies

  Health Industry Fees

  Additional Health Savings

  Additional Tax Benefits for Healthcare

  The Affordable Care Act not only makes health care more affordable for families and small business owners and raises taxes on high earners, large businesses, and the health care industry. It also limits medical deductions.  Tens of millions of families will benefit from new tax credits which will help them reduce their premium costs and purchase insurance. American families making less than $250,000 as a group will see their taxes cut by hundreds of billions of dollars.

  When enacted, health reform is completely paid for and will reduce the deficit by more than one hundred billion dollars in the next ten years.

  Title X. Reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act

  The Act reauthorizes the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (ICHIA) which provides health care services to American Indians and Alaskan Natives. It will modernize the Indian health care system and improve health care for 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives.

  Thanks for checking out our Affordable Care Act Summary.