The health care reform debate between 2008 and 2010 led to the passage of Patient Protection and Affordable Act, was reminiscent of opportunities for reform that have occurred on a cyclical basis throughout American history. These opportunities occurred most notably in the presidential administrations of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and William J. Clinton. (Rich, Cheung, Lurvey, 79).
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices. (Rich, Cheung, Lurvey, 81) Signed under the title of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the law included multiple provisions that would take effect over a matter of years, including the expansion of Medicaid eligibility, the establishment of health insurance exchanges and prohibiting health insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
Before the ACA law, a person could be denied coverage or treatment because of a pre-existing condition, charged more because of gender, dropped mid-treatment for making a simple mistake on the application and had little or no way to fight insurance company appeals. One of the major things the ACA does is to help individuals receive health insurance through expanding Medicaid and Medicare and offering cost assistance to Americans who cannot afford healthcare. (Rich, Cheung, Lurvey, 205) Most Americans will have to have health insurance by January 1, 2014 or pay a fee on their year-end taxes. In 2012, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) 2010 won two major battles when the Supreme Court upheld the majority of the law as legal; however, the ACA still faces tough challenges, as this year, critical parts of the law are being implemented in the USA.
