evidence: Health care should be a right, not a privilege, and Americans facing illness should never have to worry about how they are going to pay for their treatment. While the historic Affordable Care Act (ACA) reduced the number of uninsured Americans by more than 20 million, extended critical consumer protections to more than 100 million people, and strengthened and improved the nation’s health care system, too many Americans continue to struggle to afford care. About 30 million people were uninsured in 2019 before President Biden took office, and coverage under the ACA (even with the premium subsidies) was too expensive for many families. In addition to investing in protecting Americans from future pandemics, the Build Back Better framework will expand access to affordable coverage. In all, the framework will be the largest expansion of health care coverage since the Affordable Care Act. Specifically, the framework will: - Strengthen the Affordable Care Act and reduce premiums for 9 million Americans. The framework will reduce premiums for more than 9 million Americans who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace by an average of $600 per person per year. For example, a family of four earning $80,000 per year would save nearly $3,000 per year (or $246 per month) on health insurance premiums. Experts predict that more than 3 million people who would otherwise be uninsured will gain health insurance.