In 2010 President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, (aka Obamacare), into law to give more Americans access to healthcare, but elements like the individual mandate have caused controversy.

In March of 20 ten President Barack Obama enacted the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare in an effort to make health insurance more affordable and more accessible to all Americans. By the time Obama came into office, using legislation to improve access to healthcare wasn't a new idea. 

The earliest form of private health insurance emerged in the late 1800 S as industrial sickness funds giving payments to dues paying members who were forced out of work due to illness or injury. By the beginning of the 20 th century, many European nations had enacted healthcare programs. Progressives in the United States sought a similar program with their candidate Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, but he lost the presidential election that year. In the 1930 S. Fdr passed the Social Security Act, which gave government payments to people who had to stop working due to illness or injury. In 1944. Congress passed the Veterans Readjustment Act, which expanded public health carers to many millions of ex-ervine members.

After World War II. In the 1960. S. Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, and the government began providing subsidized health carers to elderly and low-income Americans. Respected other presidents, including Harry Truman in the 1940 s. Richard Nixon in the early 70 s, and Bill Clinton in the 1990 s tried to pass healthcare reform, but private insurers feared that governmentubsidized insurance would impinge on their business. 

When Barack Obama became president in 2 thousand and 9. 45 million Americans were uninsured. A growing number of American employers had cut health insurance from their benefits. The growing costs of medical care became a lead cause for personal bankruptcies, foreclosures, and family crises, so the new president made healthcare reform his chief mission in February 2 thousand and nine. Just one month after his inauguration. Obama delivered a speech to Congress announcing his administration's push for reform. Even though Obama and his fellow Democrats controlled Congress and the White House, the reform efforts were delayed as members of Congress debated how much of a role the government should have in health carers. After many compromises, the ACA finally made it through Congress, and Obama signed the law in 2010

The immediate goals of the ACA were to make health insurance available to more people while also making healthcare cheaper and expanding the Medicaid program, though only some states opted into that expansion. To put the ACA to work, the federal government created a Healthcare Marketplace, which is a service that allows Americans to shop for and enroll in affordable health insurance. 

Vaa also created government standards for minimum services that must be covered by private insurance plans and stopped private insurance from denying or charging people more based on pre-existing health conditions. In 2014, an individual mandate went into effect which required Americans to pay a penalty if they decided not to buy a health insurance plan. Through these provisions, the ACA managed to achieve many of obama's goals. By 2016, nearly 20 million previously uninsured people had acquired healthcare. Despite that accomplishment, some have criticized Obamacare for the individual mandate penalty and the government regulation of what they see as a private industry. By 2014. Republicans in the House of Representatives had already voted more than 50 times to repeal the measure, only to be blocked by the Deocratic Senate each time.

Obama's successor. President Donald Trump, campaigned on repealing Obamacare and signed an executive order to allow the sale of cheaper health insurance policies with fewer benefits. He also signed a tax bill that repealed the individual mandate clubs. While the debate continues over the best methods of increasing American access to healthcare, the ACA remains a pivotal piece of wasted legislation in our history. The issue is and always will be the cost, unafforedable for most who do not qualify for government help. Thus Health Sharing and other viable alternaives have come onboard to help out the average Amercian. Whatever your political beliefs, Health Sharing can save you money every month and every year.