More than a decade after its enactment, tens of millions of people nationwide rely on coverage options created through the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). The law has survived multiple court challeges at the U.S. Supreme Court and repeated attempts by Republicans in Congress to repeal it. Subsequent legislation has scaled back some aspects of the law and expanded others, including by the COVID-19 relief bill, the American Response Plan Act of 2021. This page highlights relevant analysis about the ACA and proposed and enacted changes to it..
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
Nov 23, 2021
A summary of 10 of the major health coverage and financing provisions of the current Build Back Better Act, with discussion of the potential implications for people and the federal budget.
Related Affordable Care Act Resources
Sep 24, 2021
In this Policy Watch we explore the potential impact of the expiration of the American Rescue Plan Act’s enhanced financial help and new eligibility for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance Marketplace federal subsidies. While the COVID-19 relief legislation passed earlier this year provides greater subsidy assistance through 2022, Democrats in Congress are currently considering making the temporary federal help permanent or extending it as part of their planned budget reconciliation legislation.
December 11, 2015 Poll Finding
This survey of Kentucky residents gauges their views on health care policy in the state, including their preferences for the future of the Medicaid expansion and the state-based health insurance marketplace, Kynect. Kentucky has received national attention as the only Southern state to fully embrace the Affordable Care Act, though the state elected a new governor in November 2015 who campaigned on rolling back the Medicaid expansion and ending Kynect.
February 10, 2016 Issue Brief
This brief provides key data on the South and the current status of health and health coverage in the South to provide greater insight into the health needs in the region and the potential coverage gains that may be achieved through the ACA. It includes data on the uninsured, Medicaid expansion and eligibility for coverage.
April 7, 2016 Issue Brief
Affordability of coverage remains a persistent problem for some who have gained coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Using data from the 2014 Kaiser Survey of Low-Income Americans, this brief examines the factors that may be contributing to affordability challenges among those with coverage through the Marketplace.
March 2, 2016 Issue Brief
This brief identifies a range of successful strategies to reach and enroll Medicaid- and CHIP-eligible individuals as well as options to facilitate renewals. It draws on a collection of previous work examining state enrollment experiences after implementation of the ACA. In sum, it shows that states that have achieved enrollment success have embraced an array of strategies and approaches that include promoting the expansion through strong leadership and collaboration, implementing broad marketing and outreach campaigns, establishing a coordinated and diverse network of assisters, developing effective eligibility and enrollment systems that coordinate with the Marketplace, and planning ahead to translate coverage gains into improved access to care.
June 8, 2016 Report
In its third year, the survey tracks the experiences of assistance programs signing people up for Affordable Care Act coverage during open enrollment and, for consumers who qualify, during special enrollment periods. This year, for the second time, the survey includes health insurance brokers who helped people apply for non-group coverage in an ACA marketplace.
June 9, 2016 Issue Brief
Medicaid payments to hospitals, which include base and supplemental payments, play an important role in hospital finances and can affect beneficiaries’ access to care.This brief provides an overview of Medicaid payments for hospitals and explores the implications of the ACA Medicaid expansion, including changes in uncompensated care, as well as payment policy changes on hospital finances.
June 22, 2016 Issue Brief
The House Republican Plan (“A Better Way”) released on June 22, 2016, includes a proposal to convert federal Medicaid financing from an open-ended entitlement to a per capita allotment or a block grant (based on a state choice). This proposal is part of a larger package designed to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and reduce federal spending for health care. Often tied to deficit reduction, proposals to convert Medicaid’s financing structure to a per capita cap or block grant have been proposed before. Such changes represent a fundamental change in the financing structure of the program with major implications for beneficiaries, providers, states and localities. Key things to understand about a per capita cap include the following: how a per capita cap works, key design challenges, and implications of a per capita cap.
June 24, 2016 Issue Brief
This brief provides an overview of recent trends in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment as of January 2016, based on data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) produced as part of its Performance Indicator Project. The project was designed to provide timely data on Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and enrollment that are intended to help strengthen data-driven program management and oversight efforts at both the national and state level. They also provide insight into Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and enrollment experiences as the ACA is implemented. This brief examines data as of January 2016 to be able to look at two full years of data post implementation of the major coverage provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
June 30, 2016 Poll Finding
The June Kaiser Health Tracking Poll examines attitudes on the Affordable Care Act and provides an in-depth analysis of two of the biggest health policy stories of the month: the Zika virus outbreak and reports about the rising costs of ACA health insurance premiums.
July 27, 2016 Perspective
In this post for JAMA, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Larry Levitt outlines the health care platforms of the Republican and Democratic parties, noting their fundamentally different aims and differing ideas about, among other things, the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) and Medicare.
