PPACA – Health Insurance for Everyone

PPACA – Health Insurance for Everyone

PPACA is the abbreviation for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This law regulates access to health insurance and is therefore an essential aspect of the US health system. PPACA is considered a central component of the policy of US President Barack Obama, why it is also referred to as Obamacare in the political debate.

PPACA aims to ensure that every US citizen is obliged to take out health insurance. In order to assure this, the reform offers first, subsidies for the people who cannot afford insurance and second, incentives for companies to establish health insurance. The basic idea of ​​this reform is to provide every US citizen with access to good, affordable medical care.

In order to find the most suitable and most affordable insurance, comparison portals were set up. This ensures both transparency and monitoring of the legislation.

Finally, the reform regulates that people who do not take out health insurance have to pay a fine. Uninsured persons must pay the equivalent of their insurance premiums to the state. Companies and insurers that do not comply with the Act also have to pay a fine. This regulation is intended to ensure the enforcement of the insurance obligation. However, there are exceptions, i.e. if the lowest-cost healthcare plan overspends eight percent of an individual's income, this person does not have to pay a fine. 

Source:

Mauk, David; Oakland, John: American Civilization: An Introduction. Sixth Edition. Abington, Oxon: Taylor & Francis Group, 2014.