What was a key goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?

One of the primary objectives of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010, was to reduce the number of uninsured Americans and control the escalating costs of healthcare. The ACA aimed to achieve this by expanding Medicaid eligibility, implementing health insurance marketplaces, and providing subsidies to help lower-income individuals and families afford coverage. Additionally, the ACA introduced mandates to ensure that individuals had access to insurance, thereby encouraging more people to obtain health coverage.

Control of costs was another significant focus. Through various measures such as promoting preventive care, improving efficiency in healthcare delivery, and limiting certain insurance practices, the ACA sought to contain rising healthcare expenditures and make health insurance more affordable for a broader segment of the population. This dual aim of reducing the uninsured rate while addressing costs reflects the core mission of the ACA to create a more accessible and sustainable healthcare system in the United States.

This focus on reducing the number of uninsured Americans and controlling costs distinguishes the ACA's objectives from those of other health policy initiatives, which may aim for broader goals like universal coverage or eliminating private insurance altogether.