The Affordable
Healthcare Act was cobbled together to address two huge problems with
our existing health care system -- 50 million Americans with no health
insurance who rely on emergency room care (thus forcing others to assume
the cost of that) & overall health care costs ballooning (driven by
our "fee-for-service" system...
http://theweek.com/article/index/230357/the-road-ahead-for-obamacare-a-guide
Also read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fee-for-service