This month marks the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Over the last ten years over 25 million Americans have been able to gain access to affordable, quality healthcare. As a result, critical coverage and equity gaps that have persisted in our country have narrowed. While we have more work to do to increase coverage for all Americans, the passage of the ACA has expanded essential health benefits, like prescription drugs, preventative care, and infant and maternal care, and provided protection for all Americans from being denied coverage or charged higher premiums because of a pre-existing condition or their gender.
We fight for the health of every person in every community and have worked with United Ways across the US to provide outreach and enrollment in the ACA, connecting millions of children and families to healthcare coverage.
The United Way of Anchorage is the ACA navigator site for the State of Alaska. Through their work, they have assisted thousands of hard-working adults gain access to health insurance.
Just last year, a couple visited their navigator office in desperate need of health insurance. They are small business owners without insurance, and the wife had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Because of the wife’s pre-existing condition, the monthly cost of insurance outside the ACA marketplace would have been over $1100 per month. A United Way navigator assisted them in enrolling in a plan that qualified them for premium tax credits, bringing down their monthly cost to less than $5.00 a month.
Millions of stories like this have played out across our country because of the ACA. United Way is committed to expanding coverage for every American that is affordable, accessible and adequate.
Join us in celebrating the strides we have made since the Affordable Care Act passed by clicking here to tweet a happy 10th birthday to the Affordable Care Act!
#Happy10thACA
