Final answer:
The Affordable Care Act introduced major changes to the U.S. healthcare system such as providing coverage for the uninsured and those with preexisting conditions, and implementing employer and individual mandates.
Step-by-step explanation:
7 Major Changes to Health Care Coverage from the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, brought significant changes to health care coverage in the United States. Among the seven major changes, three key components changed the landscape of health insurance:
- Coverage for the uninsured, addressing those without health insurance prior to the ACA enactment.
- Coverage for preexisting conditions, ensuring individuals with prior health issues could not be denied coverage.
- Employer and individual mandates, requiring employers to offer insurance and individuals to purchase it or face a penalty.
The introduction of the individual mandate was designed to bring both high and low risk individuals into the health insurance pool, keeping average premiums at an affordable rate. However, changes under different administrations, notably the Trump administration's repeal efforts and the Biden administration's support, have led to continual adjustments and challenges for the ACA. Despite these overhauls and the removal of the penalty for the individual mandate, the coverage rates under the ACA continued to rise.
Furthermore, the ACA's approach to funding involved reallocating $716 billion from Medicare spending, increasing the Medicare tax for wealthy Americans, and the individual mandate penalties. The ACA saw a remarkable reduction in the uninsured rate in the United States and provided health coverage to millions who previously lacked it.