Affordable care act

Discussion Week #4  Impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (aka the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare) is a United States federal statute enacted by the 111^th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.  It is considered the most monumental change in healthcare policy since the passage of Medicaid and Medicare in 1965.  The ACA had 3 primary goals that fueled its enactment:  1) To increase the number of insured 2) improve the quality of care and 3) to reduce the costs of healthcare. 

Numerous claims have been made as to whether ACA has been a success or failure, and they are often dependent upon which political persuasion you ascribe to..

Pick one of the 3 primary goals, and discuss the successes and failures relating to this goal (i.e. # of insured got health insurance, but did it increase access to healthcare?, what was the effect on employer paid health insurance availability, etc.)