Question

What are the major provisions of the Affordable Care Act? The major provisions of the Affordable Care Act are: (Select all that apply.) A holding hospitals accountable B. holding insurance companies accountable. IC improving quality and raising costs. D. providing new consumer protections EE increasing access to affordable care DE providing no consumer protections. OG increasing prices of affordable care. H. improving quality and lowering costs. 1 none of the above

Answer 1

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the comprehensive healthcare reform signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010. Formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—and simply Obamacare—the law includes a list of health-related provisions intended to extend health-insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

The Act expanded Medicaid eligibility, created health insurance exchanges, and prevents insurance companies from denying coverage (or charging more) due to pre-existing conditions. It also allows children to remain on their parents' insurance plan until age 26.

The Affordable Care Act was designed to reduce the cost of health insurance coverage for people who qualify. The law includes premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions to help lower costs for lower-income individuals and families.

Premium tax credits lower your health insurance bill each month. Cost-sharing reductions lower your out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. They also lower your out-of-pocket maximum—the total amount you pay in a year for covered health expenses.

All ACA-compliant health insurance plans—including every plan that's sold on the Health Insurance Marketplace—must cover specific "essential health benefits" including:

• Ambulatory patient services
• Breastfeeding
• Emergency services
• Family planning
• Hospitalization
• Laboratory services
• Mental health and substance use disorder services
• Pregnancy, maternity, and newborn care
• Prescription medications
• Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
• Pediatric services
• Rehabilitative and habilitative services

In addition, the Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans (including those sold on the Marketplace) to cover at no cost to policyholders a list of preventive services. These include checkups, patient counseling, immunizations, and numerous health screenings.