Obama marks health care reform's fifth anniversary

President Obama on Monday commemorated the fifth anniversary of his signing of his landmark health care reform law by touting the act's successes in the face of heavy political opposition.

Since its enactment on March 23, 2010, Mr. Obama said the reform law has provided access to health insurance for millions of Americans who previously could not afford it, as well as drastically reduced the growth rate of health care costs and contributed to improved care quality.

The Affordable Care Act has been the subject of more scrutiny, more rumor, more attempts to dismantle and undermine it than just about any law in recent history, Mr. Obama said in a statement released on Monday. But five years later, it is succeeding in fact, it's working better than even many of its supporters expected.

Last year, the percent of adults in the U.S. without health insurance dropped to 11.3% as of June 30, down from an average of 14.4% in 2013 and approximately 16% in 2010, according to reports by the federal Council of Economic Advisors. The report said the drop was due primarily to the expanded availability of affordable coverage through the public health insurance exchanges established under the health care reform law.

The Obama Administration said the reform law has also helped hold down the rising costs of health care and health insurance. The average premium cost for employer-sponsored health care coverage grew by 3% in 2014, representing the lowest year-over-year increase in nearly 15 years.

Annual increases in the cost of medical goods and services have been held in check as well, rising just 1.7% since the act's signing.

The health care reforms also were a major contributor to a 17% reduction in the rate of patients harmed by hospital care through the first three years of the law's implementation, translating to an estimated 50,000 fewer care-related deaths and approximately $12 billion in cost savings.

Despite its successes, the law has not been without its challenges or challengers since its enactment in 2010.

In 2013, the Obama administration's rollout of the federally-run public health insurance exchange was plagued by technical issues, requiring costly and time-consuming repairs and significantly damaging public confidence in the government's ability to effectively administer the law.

The government was also forced to delay or relax implementation of several key provisions of the reform law, including coverage and information reporting requirements for employers.

Go here to read the rest:

Obama marks health care reform's fifth anniversary

Related Posts

Comments are closed.