President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress pursued several major efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) but were unable to get a bill through the U.S. Senate in 2017. In 2018, Congress did pass a tax bill that eliminated the ACA’s tax penalty for not obtaining health coverage beginning in 2019.
In December 2019, a federal appeals court panel ruled that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional since Congress has set the mandate tax penalty to zero and sent the case back to a lower court to determine how much of the rest of the ACA should be invalidated. The case was first brought by a number of Republican state attorneys general, and the Trump administration now argues that nearly all of the ACA should be overturned. The U.S. Supreme Court has now agreed to review the case.
For information about ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment, including fact sheets and 300+ FAQs, visit our collection of resources on Understanding Health Insurance.
Featured Affordable Care Act Resources
Potential Impact of Texas v. U.S. Decision on Key Provisions of the Affordable Care Act
On December 14, 2018, a federal trial court judge ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate is unconstitutional and that the entire law should be struck down as a result. This brief considers the complex and far-reaching impact were the entire law ultimately held to be invalid.
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Related Affordable Care Act Resources
- Explaining Texas v. U.S.: A Guide to the Case Challenging the ACA
- The Past, Present, And Possible Future Of Public Opinion On The Affordable Care Act
- Republican Voters Have Moved On from Hating the ACA
- The Effects of Medicaid Expansion under the ACA: Updated Findings from a Literature Review
- FAQs: Health Insurance Marketplace and the ACA
- Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions: Interactive Map
- How ACA Marketplace Premiums Are Changing by County in 2020
- Insurer Participation on ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2020
- Pre-Existing Condition Prevalence for Individuals and Families
- Preventive Services Tracker
Eligibility for ACA Health Coverage Following Job Loss
As unemployment claims skyrocket amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, this analysis examines the potential loss of job-based coverage among people in families where someone lost employment between March 1 and May 2 and estimate their eligibility for ACA coverage as of May and January 2021, when most will have exhausted their unemployment benefits.
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The ACA is Doing Fine Without a Mandate Penalty
In an Axios column, Drew Altman explains that the elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate penalty has had little impact on how the ACA’s insurance markets are working, showing that “the marketplaces continue to function, even when ‘severed’ from the mandate penalty,” and undercutting a central argument in the lawsuit seeking to strike down the entire law.
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Tracking Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers
This interactive map shows the status of all Section 1332 waivers requested by states. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows states to apply for innovation waivers to alter key ACA requirements in the individual and small group insurance markets and can be used to shore up fragile insurance markets, address unique state insurance market issues, or experiment with alternative models of providing coverage to state residents.
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Health Policy in 2020 Will Be Made in the States
With a questionable outlook for 2020 passage of legislation on prescription drug pricing and surprise medical bills, Drew Altman says the real action to watch in health policy is likely to be in the states.
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Potential Impact of Texas v. U.S. Decision on Key Provisions of the Affordable Care Act
On December 14, 2018, a federal trial court judge ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate is unconstitutional and that the entire law should be struck down as a result. This brief considers the complex and far-reaching impact were the entire law ultimately held to be invalid.
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Key Facts about the Uninsured Population
This issue brief describes how coverage has changed in recent years, examines the characteristics of the uninsured population, and summarizes the access and financial implications of not having coverage.
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Analysis: 4.7 Million Uninsured People Nationally Could Get a No-Premium Bronze Plan in the ACA Marketplace,Though Deductibles Would be High
As the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period nears an end in most areas this week, a new KFF analysis finds that 4.7 million currently uninsured people could get a bronze-level plan for 2020 and pay nothing in premiums after factoring in tax credits, though the deductibles would be high.…
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How Many of the Uninsured Can Purchase a Marketplace Plan for Free in 2020?
This analysis looks at how many of the remaining uninsured are eligible for premium subsidies that are large enough to cover the entire cost of a bronze plan, which is the minimum level of coverage available on the Marketplaces. It estimates 28% of uninsured individuals who could shop on the ACA Marketplace, or 4.7 million people nationwide, are eligible to purchase a bronze plan with $0 premiums after subsidies in 2020.
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New Resource Outlines Efforts to Expand Screening and Counseling for Intimate Partner Violence
Two resources give an overview of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the U.S. and insurance coverage for screening and counseling.
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HIV, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), and Women: An Emerging Policy Landscape
Intimate partner violence has been shown to be associated with increased risk for HIV among women, as well as poorer treatment outcomes for those already diagnosed. This brief reviews the link between IPV and HIV, key policy changes and initiatives that attempt to address these challenges.
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Two Medicaid-Related Initiatives That Help Promote Long-Term Care at Home and in the Community, Rather Than in Institutions, Are Set To Expire at the End of December
Two initiatives that for years have helped shift Medicaid enrollees away from nursing homes in favor of long-term care at home and in the community face year-end deadlines that could undercut that trend, according to two new KFF issue briefs. While there does not appear to be substantive disagreement over…
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