And having private insurance has not been the answer-all, as 26 percent of those who have private insurance with high-deductible plans and one-fifth (19 percent) of people with private insurance overall (19 percent) experienced problems paying medical bills in the past year. In 2010, the year that the ACA became law, 48.6 million Americans, or 16 percent of the population, lacked health insurance. Thus, passage of the ACA has cut the uninsured rate by almost half and the trend seems to be continuing. In another study ACA Medicaid expansions were associated with improved quality of coverage, increased utilization of some types of health care, and higher rates of diagnosis of chronic health conditions for low-income adults. These are lessons that the 115th Congress, while aiming to repeal ACA, should keep in mind as they craft and roll-out their promised health care reform replacement plan.

Source: Huffington Post January 12, 2017 18:20 UTC