The PROBLEMS

Previous System

1. Insurance companies were able to take advantage of consumers, especially the 129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions.

Signed Into Law: March 23rd, 2010

2. Insurance premiums more than doubled over the last decade, therefore insurance company profits were soaring while the average American was feeling a greater financial burden.

3. Tens of millions were underinsured, which means they had inadequate insurance coverage that can lead to further economic loss to the policy holder.

4. 50 million Americans had no insurance at all.

Increasing Premiums

We relied on competition among largely private health plans to ensure that health care dollars are being used efficiently and wisely, but we did not actually know how well that system was doing.

Insurers often pointed to underlying medical costs as the reason for why rates were going up, yet they were also making many decisions that affected premium increases.

For example, some insurers vary premium increases for nongroup policies based on how long a person has held the policy.