3 Resources to Help Students Understand the Affordable Care Act

There’s been a lot of talk about the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) lately, but from what we gather, a good chunk of Americans are still fuzzy on how the new healthcare law will impact them. To help our students understand the implications of the ACA, we’ve combed the Internet for a few useful resources. Here’s what we came up with.

In this seven-minute cartoon, the Kaiser Foundation will walk you through the basic changes in the way Americans will get health coverage and what it will cost when major parts of the ACA go into effect.

USA Today’s site is certainly comprehensive, but it’s also easy to digest. Here you’ll not only find an overview of what the ACA is, you’ll also be able to find out how it impacts folks who are already insured, those who are uninsured, small business owners, college students, retirees and Americans who fall into the low-income bracket. There is a brief explanation and short video relevant to each demographic.

If you've asked yourself, "How much will Obamacare cost me?" you should stop by National Public Radio’s site and try their subsidy calculator. Enter different incomes, ages, and family sizes to get an estimate of your eligibility for subsidies and how much you could spend on health insurance.

We know that healthcare is a hot topic, and one that sparks heated discussions, so we’ve done our best to select apolitical resources that will simply give your students an overview of the ACA. We see these resources as simply a jumping off point for further in-class discussions.