Work in progress for class project - Consumer Issues

1. Obamacare – Just Another Piece of Legislation
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Signed into law on March 23, 2010
• National focus on health care • U.S. has a long history of
reform – 80% of people in U.S. legislating health care reform going
want reform that will lower costs back 100 years
and provide better access. • Many laws: Hill Burton Act,
• All Americans will need health Medicare/Medicaid, National
care services Health Insurance Standards Act,
• U.S. pays over 2 trillion/year on EMTLA, COBRA, Medicare
health care which is 16-18% GDP, Catastrophic Coverage Act, HIPAA,
more than any other western CHIP, Medicare Modernization Act
country • Many Presidents: Hoover,
• Supreme court affirmed the Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy,
constitutionality of the law Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan,
in 2011 Clinton, G.W. Bush
• Obamacare continues to be a • Most Obamacare won’t be in place
source of debate and doubt until January 1, 2014, some even
later