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 Status and Likely Impact of Final Regulations on Payments for Abortion Coverage in ACA Marketplace Plans
This brief summarizes the status and implications of the Trump Administration final regulations, published in December 2019, that change how ACA Marketplace plans that include coverage for abortion must bill and consumers must pay premiums for that coverage.
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The Uninsured and the ACA: A Primer – Key Facts about Health Insurance and the Uninsured amidst Changes to the Affordable Care Act
The Uninsured and the ACA: A Primer provides information on how insurance has changed under the ACA and more recent policy changes, how many people remain uninsured, who they are, and why they lack health coverage. It also summarizes what we know about the impact that a lack of insurance can have on the health outcomes and personal finances and the difference health insurance can make in people’s lives.
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JAMA Forum: COVID-19 and Massive Job Losses Will Test the US Health Insurance Safety Net
In this May 2020 post for The JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt explores how the massive and rapid job losses of the past few months will test the ACA’s coverage safety net – and how different policies could strengthen or weaken it.
Perspective Read More
Preventive Services Tracker
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires new private health insurance plans to cover many recommended preventive services without any patient cost-sharing. This tracker presents up-to-date information on the adult preventive services nongrandfathered private plans must cover, by condition, including a summary of the recommendation, the target population, the effective date of coverage, and related federal coverage clarifications.
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Preguntas frecuentes: mercado de seguros de salud y ACA
Encuentre respuestas a las preguntas más comunes sobre seguros médicos incluyendo: Obamacare; el mercado de seguros; ayuda para pagar las primas de los seguros de salud; salud de las mujeres y de los inmigrantes.
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How Threatening The ACA Again Could Hurt Trump With Independent Voters
In his Axios column, Drew Altman shows how threatening the Affordable Care Act in the U.S. Supreme Court, or overturning it, could hurt President Trump with independent voters, and says that could matter most in battleground states.
Perspective Read More
An Early Look at 2021 Premium Changes on ACA Exchanges and the Impact of COVID-19 on Rates
A look at preliminary marketplace rate filings reveals many premium changes for 2021 are moderate thus far, with increases or decreases of a few percentage points. However, most insurers have not yet incorporated the rate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in their rate changes for 2021, so many of these proposed rates are likely to change.
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Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions: Interactive Map
This page displays an interactive map of the current status of state decisions on the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. Additional Medicaid expansion resources are listed (with links) below the map.
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