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The State of American Health Coverage: The 2022 Elections and the Affordable Care Act

Date of Publication
October 16, 2023
Publication Type
Journal Article
Focus Area
License
Paid Access
DOI Entry
10.1017/S1744133123000245
Citation (AMA)

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) was the most significant policy breakthrough to expand health insurance coverage in the USA in 45 years. Culminating a decade-long effort by Republicans to repeal and undermine the ACA, the Trump administration launched a panoply of executive initiatives to sabotage the law. Benefitting from Democratic control of both the House and Senate during its first 2 years, the Biden administration through legislative and executive initiatives made substantial headway in reversing Trump's sabotage and further reinvigorating the ACA. The 2022 elections witnessed a shift in the partisan milieu. Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives; Democrats scored modest gains in state elections. Emphasising two pivotal features of American governance - federalism and the outsized role of the courts - this essay examines the implications of this new partisan context for Biden's efforts to bolster ACA durability prior to the 2024 presidential election.