A primary purpose of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA/ACA) is to:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was enacted to increase the number of insured Americans, make coverage more affordable, and add strong consumer protections such as guaranteed issue, essential health benefits, prohibitions on annual and lifetime dollar limits, and limits on medical loss ratios. The law works through the existing private market and state-based exchanges rather than abolishing private insurers, and it preserves and reinforces employer-based coverage through the employer shared-responsibility provisions. Expanding access and protecting consumers is the central legislative purpose, making A the correct answer.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) The ACA retains a regulated private insurance market and creates public exchanges for individuals and small businesses; it does not replace private carriers with a single-payer federal program. The law deliberately preserves the private market rather than creating a single federal payer.
- C) Employer-sponsored coverage remains central under the ACA; the law requires applicable large employers to offer affordable minimum-value coverage instead of eliminating employer plans. Large employers are required to offer coverage, which strengthens rather than eliminates employer plans.
- D) The ACA's guaranteed issue requirement applies to the individual and small group markets broadly and actually expanded guaranteed issue to the individual market rather than restricting it. The ACA extended guaranteed issue to individuals, expanding it rather than restricting its scope.
Memory hook
ACA = more people covered, better protection, private market kept. Single-payer is a different debate.