Question: What should I know about health care policy?

Health care has been, and still is, a highly debated topic. In the United States, coverage has historically been a private matter with people purchasing health plans themselves, or through employers. Publically, you need to know about Medicare and Medicaid.

Medicare became a part of Social Security in 1965, offering senior citizens health insurance.

Medicaid is also a 1965 program that was created to help people with low income cope with medical expenses.

Passed in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act, is commonly known as President Barack Obama’s Obamacare. The act looks to lower health care costs and make health insurance more affordable. The law was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012 in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius.           

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