What is Obamacare exactly? On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This law became known colloquially as “Obamacare,” and it changed the healthcare industry significantly. Basically, in theory, it gives those who have had difficulties obtaining health insurance access to affordable coverage and healthcare.
Pre-existing Conditions, Gender and Cancellations
You may have been treated for an illness in the past. This would have been enough reason for an insurance company to deny you coverage before Obamacare passed. In the event that you were approved for coverage, you may have been charged exorbitant premiums for being a woman. Also, insurance companies could find a way to void current policies while their clients were being treated for serious diseases. They were doing this by carefully scrutinizing their clients’ applications in order to find even the tiniest mistakes. If they did, they used these mistakes as an excuse to cancel the policies.
Now that Obamacare has passed, the above-mentioned scenarios can no longer occur. Insurance companies cannot deny coverage because you already have an illness or had one in the past, and they cannot charge you higher premiums because you are female. If you are diagnosed with an illness while on a plan and start treatment, because of this law, your insurance company cannot void the policy after treatment has started because of a mistake on the application.
Affordable Healthcare for More People
Obamacare also ensures that more young people can be insured by allowing children to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26 years old. It makes it more affordable to pay for healthcare by requiring that preventative services are performed without charging the patient anything at the time of service. Similarly, healthcare facilities must not charge patients out-of-pocket expenses when they present themselves for emergency services, maternity care, hospitalizations and prescription drugs.
Reduces Healthcare Expenditures
Lastly, the law works to lower healthcare costs. One way it does this is by cutting down on the wasteful spending that often occurs in the healthcare industry. For example, healthcare professionals used to perform a lot of costly and unnecessary tests, but the new law cuts down on these procedures.
What Is Obamacare Exactly?
The answer to the question, “What is Obamacare exactly?” is clear. Obamacare is a law that opens up the healthcare industry to people who were previously uninsurable or could not afford to purchase coverage. It reduces waste and makes healthcare more affordable for everyone. While not yet a perfect solution as evidenced by highly publicized plan cancellations and many instances of significantly higher prices, it is a step towards an improved system that is clearly long overdue.