Question

Discuss key legal aspects of the Affordable Care Act, and impacts of this new law on doctors, hospitals, and insurers. Your response must be at least 200 words in length.

Answer 1

The comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010 (sometimes known as ACA, PPACA, or “Obamacare”).

The law has 3 legal aspects

• Make affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies (“premium tax credits”) that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.A measure of income issued every year by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Federal poverty levels are used to determine your eligibility for certain programs and benefits, including savings on Marketplace health insurance, and Medicaid and CHIP coverage. federal poverty levels are used to determine eligibility for reduced-cost health coverage by

1. Income between 100% and 400% FPL: If your incoe is in this range, in all states you qualify for premium tax credits that lower your monthly premium for a Marketplace health insurance plan.
2. Income below 138% FPL: If your income is below 138% FPL and your state has expanded Medicaid coverage, you qualify for Medicaid based only on your income.
3. Income below 100% FPL: If your income falls below 100% FPL, you probably won’t qualify for savings on a Marketplace health insurance plan or for income-based Medicaid.

• Expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level. (Not all states have expanded their Medicaid programs.)

  Some states have expanded their Medicaid programs to cover all people with household incomes below a certain level. Others haven’t.Whether you qualify for Medicaid coverage depends partly on whether your state has expanded its program.

  In all states: You can qualify for Medicaid based on income, household size, disability, family status, and other factors. Eligibility rules differ between states.

  In states that have expanded Medicaid coverage: You can qualify based on your income alone. If your household income is below 133% of the federal poverty level, you qualify. (Because of the way this is calculated, it turns out to be 138% of the federal poverty level. A few states use a different income limit.)

• Support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally.