Gas prices are fickle, the nation is entangled in global conflicts, cities are gripped by social and political unrest and the economy remains uncertain. However, we should not forget that the Affordable Care Act still sucks. It is expensive, and it is not working as it was promised. The ACA, intended to provide a more inclusive and affordable healthcare system to all Americans, has increasingly demonstrated disparities in healthcare affordability between low-income, minority adults and high-income white adults between 2021 and 2024 (Witters, 2025). While this struggle takes place in American communities, the ACA has made insurance companies richer on the taxpayers’ dime.
Though the ACA aims to provide quality and affordable healthcare for all who are eligible, studies have shown adverse effects. A recent Gallup poll of the ACA indicates a declining trend in affordability among lower-income Blacks and Hispanics from 2021 to 2024. Hispanic adults, measured at 8%, are among the highest increase of minority groups reporting they cannot afford care, followed by a 5% increase of Black adults struggling with healthcare costs. Household annual incomes of $24,000 to $48,000 had an increase of 6%, reporting an inability to pay for treatment, while annual household incomes less than $24,000 increased 11% in this “cost-desperate” category. White adults and annual household incomes of $90,000 or greater experience virtually no change in their ability to afford care (Witters, 2025). Republicans claim the rise in costs is due to the high costs of the ACA, while Democrats claim the ACA needs more funding to offset the affordability gap (The Health Insurance Subsidies behind the Government Shutdown, 2025). The parties may claim and point the finger, but neither have yet to fix the problem.
The ACA has become a massive revenue stream for insurance companies, as taxpayer-funded premiums have sent stock prices skyrocketing, with some carriers seeing gains of more than tenfold. According to market data between 2010 and 2024, companies like UnitedHealth Group, Molina Healthcare and Centene saw their share prices soar by 1000% or more since the act’s inception. Elevance Health and Cigna followed a similar trajectory, reaching increases of nearly 900% by 2025 (S&P Global, 2025). While the ACA includes a “Medical Loss Ratio” to limit overhead, critics argue that the lack of true competition in many government-subsidized markets allows insurers to benefit from rising premiums that are almost entirely covered by taxpayers (Rigney, 2025). A more robust checks-and-balances system with transparent pricing could potentially reduce these taxpayer-funded premiums and make healthcare more affordable for the average citizen.
The ACA was designed to be fair, save lives and reduce the deficit; however, its implementation coincided with a historic three-year decline in U.S. life expectancy and a substantial increase in the national debt (Blase et al., 2024). Instead of the promised equity, disparities among social classes and races persist while health insurance companies continue to thrive. We are witnessing a systemic betrayal of trust that has led some Americans to immorally cheer for criminal activity — specifically the cold-blooded, execution-style shooting of a person in the back — under the guise of “public-health justice.” This chaos is a symptom of a deeper rot; true resolution must come not from violence, but from the American people demanding that our representatives stop shooting their own constituents in the back with forced policies that protect corporate profits at the expense of our health.
References:
Blase, B., Kerpen, P., & Mulligan, C. B. (2024, June 19). The falsehoods of Obamacare: A dozen broken promises, seven million canceled plans, and hundreds of billion in debt. Paragon Health Institute. https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/the-falsehoods-of-obamacare-a-dozen-broken-promises-seven-million-canceled-plans-and-hundreds-of-billion-in-debt/
Rigney, G. (2025, December 16). Gaming the medical loss ratio: How health insurers turn consumer protections into corporate windfalls. Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. https://freopp.org/oppblog/gaming-the-medical-loss-ratio-how-health-insurers-turn-consumer-protections-into-corporate-windfalls/
S&P Global. (2025). Market performance data: 2010–2025 [Data set]. S&P Capital IQ. https://www.capitaliq.comWitters, D. (2025, April 2). In U.S., inability to pay for care, medicine hits new high. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/658148/inability-pay-care-medicine-hits-new-high.aspx
