The Affordable Care Act is essentially an act that was signed on March 23, 2010, by President Obama in hopes that it would provide U.S. citizens with affordable and better quality health insurance, and also regulating and reducing health care expenses in the U.S. Prior to the act being signed into law, there were many unsettling things that health insurance companies could do without repercussion, for example, insurance companies where able to deny coverage to a person because of past illnesses, get dropped for making a mistake on application, and also be charged more or less based on your sex. With the passing of the ACA, many of these problems disappeared but some other problems became prevalent. There are many benefits that the ACA brought to the table for example, No annual or lifetime limits on healthcare. Before ACA there where …show more content…
Like previously stated, it allows small businesses with less than 25 full-time employees that make under a certain amount to be eligible for subsidized health insurance which saves the business from having to pay out of pocket. It also allows for smaller businesses to get bigger tax breaks. The act created a Small Business Health Options Program or SHOP, which allows small businesses to have the same buying power as larger corporations. With these new benefits, comes a downside and in this case multiple downsides. Since the act, some small business still cannot afford to cover full-time employees so they cut hours of the employees. When cutting peoples hours, you are essentially cutting down their pay checks causing them to make less than before. With the cut in hours people may quit and begin looking for a new job, which will lead them into another obstacle, getting hired. With the new regulations, many business have reduced hiring because of the cost. From there it becomes a domino effect, decreasing the work force and increasing the unemployment