Myths Surrounding the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care act, also known as Obamacare, is a federal statute which came into effect in 2010. Its aim was to lower the number of people without health insurance by making insurance more affordable, and reducing healthcare costs. The law also attempted to remove any discrimination in the healthcare system, making costs and treatment standards equal to everyone, as well as providing new benefit packages to those with health insurance, as a further incentive to invest. Unfortunately, The Affordable Care Act has been met with criticism and myths have been promoted.


There has been a lot of mistrust of the act as people are worried that the government are taking over the running of healthcare practices, hospitals and health insurance providers. This isn't the case. The law is there to set guidelines, and ensure fairness, as with all laws. The government isn't taking over insurance firms. Private firms remain in place; the law just holds them accountable for any discrimination and unfair treatment.

If You Have Insurance, The Affordable Care Act Can't Help You
Many patients believe this. They don't see the point in the act, as they have always had health insurance. However, this isn't the case at all. The Act doesn't just aim to see more people take insurance. It exists to protect everyone, even current policy holders from any discrimination. No longer will insurance companies be able to treat you differently or charge you more because you are a woman, or because you have a pre-existing condition. Everyone is entitled to the same levels of care.


It's thought that The Act will ultimately save a lot of money. By catching illnesses early, using screening programs and educating patients in preventative measures, there will be less serious illnesses, which are much more expensive to treat and take up more doctor's time.


Doctors must treat more patients, so they won't have time to spend with me, seems to be a common thought. In fact, doctors and hospital staff will be freed up from a lot of administration. Those studying for an MSN in nursing administration will know all about the huge amounts of paperwork hospital staff must deal with. They will be able to spend more time educating and getting to know their patients, helping them prevent illnesses, not just curing them.


The logic behind this seems to be that if more people have insurance, the companies will need to pay out more. So, costs will rise for everyone. This simply isn't true. The Act protects us from unfair rises, and forces firms to be completely transparent with any reasons for rises.

Some of these myths are born from genuine misunderstandings of the law. While others have been perpetrated by its critics. It's important that we separate the myths from the facts to fully utilize The Act. If you are interested in learning more about healthcare law, see Bradley University for a range of courses including MSN administration.