The Affordable Care Act (ACA), a federal statute passed in 2010, was a progressive attempt to reform America’s healthcare system by increasing access to cheaper health insurance, insuring a greater percentage of the population, and reducing overall health care expenditure. Known to many as Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates 10 Essential Health Benefits (EHB) that health plans must cover, including coverage of prescription drugs, hospitalization, emergency services, and mental health disorder services, among others. Yet even with the ACA’s emphasis on providing accessible information about health plans, and specifically prescription drug coverage, the changes brought about by the statute have not translated into an easier consumer experience for people shopping insurance options. One of the key elements of the ACA was the creation of “exchanges,” online marketplaces that allow people to see many insurance options in the same place and thereby force insurance companies to compete with each other for customers. One of the goals was to incentivize insurance companies to offer better coverage at lower costs. But the exchanges were also designed to simplify a complicated decision-making process, and to ensure that market be transparent. Read more at Nelson Hardiman.