I came to the presentation on healthcare with relatively extensive prior exposure to the details of the American Care Act, but surprisingly little knowledge of the debates surrounding healthcare reform . Listening to the news I was aware that there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding the law, but it was only during research that I discovered the details of why each political party, as well as the Catholic Church, supports or opposes the law. Knowing this, I have formed the opinion that, although the structure of the American Care Act is imperfect and its implementation leaves much to be desired, this piece of health care reform will still be an overall good for Americans and is superior to any other alternatives suggested by the reforms. I learned from researching the Democratic platform that the Democratic Party largely supports the bill. The platform states that “the Affordable Care Act does not represent the end of efforts to improve health care for all Americans,” indicating that they would like to see the law's scope and effectiveness expanded (The 2012 Democratic National Platform: Moving America Forward, Democratic National Committee). The Democratic National Platform cites the Affordable Care Act as responsible for covering more working families with Medicaid, preventing those with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage, and insuring 30 million previously uninsured Americans (The 2012 Democratic National Platform: Moving America Forward, Democratic National Committee). .Since being uninsured correlates with negative health outcomes, the benefits cited by the Democratic Party would seem to support my argument that the American Care Act is good for Americans because it covers so many people who would otherwise… medium paper ..., also helps Americans by ensuring that their medical care is not based on the religious beliefs of others. The debate over compulsory contraception could therefore strengthen or weaken my argument. The Affordable Care Act is not perfect. It presents obstacles for both legal and illegal immigrants when it comes to obtaining health care and creates conflicts between financial need and religious teaching for some employers. Compromises and amendments to protect these groups would significantly strengthen the law. The law also took a shakeup, seeing fewer enrollments than expected during the first open enrollment period. However, overall, the law did very well in protecting the poor and particularly those with pre-existing conditions, who would not be satisfactorily served under other health reform proposals..