At tonight’s debate, the GOP candidates on stage just demanded we repeal the Affordable Care Act. While Republicans try to keep the ACA in the waiting room, tens of millions of Americans would go back to the way health care used to be – expensive premiums, higher drug costs, charging more for women, and refusing to cover those with pre-existing conditions. Their plan to rip apart Obamacare is more than just a tough pill to swallow; it’s poison to the 20 million Americans who depend on the ACA.
Here’s how the ACA is helping:
March 3, 2016: HHS Released Report That “Estimates that 20 Million Uninsured Adults Have Gained Health Insurance Because Of The Affordable Care Act As Of Early 2016.” [HHS, ASPE Issue Brief, 3/3/2016]
HHS: “Insurers Can No Longer Discriminate Based On Gender. An estimated 55 million women are also benefiting from preventive services coverage with no out-of-pocket costs. And health insurers can no longer discriminate based on gender, so being a woman is no longer a preexisting condition.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]
HHS: “Health Care Coverage is now Affordable for Millions of Americans. Of the about 10.2 million consumers who had paid their premium and had active Marketplace coverage on March 31, 2015, nearly 8.7 million (85 percent) nationwide and 6.4 million in the 34 states with Federally-facilitated Marketplaces received an average premium tax credit of $272 per month. And in 2015, nearly 80 percent of Marketplace shoppers using HealthCare.gov could purchase coverage for $100 or less after tax credits. A recent Commonwealth Fund study found that in 2014, fewer Americans had problems paying medical bills or medical debt, and fewer went without care because they couldn’t afford it. This is the first decline and lowest level in these areas since 2005.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]
HHS: “Health Care Cost Growth Has Slowed Sharply. Since the Affordable Care Act became law, the price of health care has risen at the slowest rate in 50 years. Medicare has paid out nearly $316 billion less through 2013 than it would have had previous trends continued. The average premium for employer-based family coverage rose just 3 percent in nominal terms in 2014. Just more than a decade ago, surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation frequently registered double-digit premium increases for this type of coverage.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]
HHS: “Improved Patient Safety. Since 2011, patient harms like hospital-acquired conditions, pressure ulcers, central line associated infections, falls and traumas have fallen by 17 percent, saving an estimated 50,000 lives and $12 billion dollars.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]
HHS: “Higher Quality Coverage. After years of dropped coverage, flimsy plans and barriers to care, everyone’s coverage has improved because consumers have new protections, including those who get health insurance through their employers. They can’t be turned away because of pre-existing conditions; they can’t be dropped just because they get sick and insurance has to cover care that Americans count on like trips to the emergency room, prescriptions and preventive services.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]