The "Cadillac tax," an enacted but not yet implemented part of the Affordable Care Act, is a 40% tax on the most generous employer-provided health insurance plans — those that cost more than $11,200 per year for an individual policy or $30,150 for family coverage. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Creative/Getty Images hide caption
"As deductibles rise, patients have the right to know the price of health care services so they can shop around for the best deal," says Seema Verma, who heads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and announced the Trump administration's plan this week. Kevin Wolf/AP hide caption
Opponents running to Joe Biden's left say his health plan for America merely "tinkers around the edges" of the Affordable Care Act. But a close read reveals some initiatives in Biden's plan that are so expansive they might have trouble passing even a Congress held by Democrats. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Demonstrators from Doctors for America marched in support of the Affordable Care Act outside the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2015. Now, another case aims to undo the federal health law: Texas v. United States could land in front of the Supreme Court ahead of the 2020 election. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Clarisa Corber at work at a Topeka, Kan., insurance agency. Corber and her husband — who have three kids, a health plan and $15,000 in medical debt — were profiled in a recent Los Angeles Times investigation into the effects of high-deductible health plans. Nick Krug/Los Angeles Times hide caption
The out-of-pocket expense of mammograms, MRIs and other tests and treatments can be several thousand dollars each year when you have a high-deductible health policy. Lester Lefkowitz/Getty Images hide caption
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2019 on Capitol Hill Wednesday. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption
President Trump says Republicans will pass "a great health care package" after the 2020 election. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
President Trump speaks to reporters as he arrives for a Senate Republican lunch on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
The Justice Department sent a letter in support of repealing the entirety of the Affordable Care Act. Here, a sign in support of the ACA in April 2017 in New York City. Kevin Hagen/Getty Images hide caption
One health insurance startup charges patients extra for procedures not covered by their basic health plan. The out-of-pocket cost for a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy might range from $900 to $3,000 extra, while a lumbar spine fusion could range from $5,000 to $10,000. Frederic Cirou/PhotoAlto/Getty Images hide caption
Leah Steimel (center) says she would consider buying insurance through a Medicaid-style plan that the New Mexico Legislature is considering. Her family includes (from left) her husband, Wellington Guzman; their daughter, Amelia; and sons Daniel and Jonathan. Courtesy of Leah Steimel hide caption
Rep. John Dingell was seated next to President Barack Obama when he signed the Affordable Care Act into law at the White House on March 23, 2010. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
Republican lawmaker Allen Christensen is pushing a bill in the Utah Senate that would shrink the Medicaid expansion his state's voters approved. "They are not obligated to balance the budget," he argues. "We are." Cory Dinter/KUER hide caption
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., at an Oakland, Calif., campaign rally this week. Harris says she backs a single-payer health system, but she hasn't yet offered details on how she would finance that plan. Mason Trinca/Getty Images hide caption
Demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in 2014 react to hearing the court's decision on the Hobby Lobby birth control case. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a speech Thursday to the new Congress that Democrats want "to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices and protect people with pre-existing medical conditions." Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption
Though his politics are right of center and he lobbied hard against the Affordable Care Act, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch also has been key to passing several landmark health laws with bipartisan support. Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption
Philadelphia demonstrators protested earlier moves by Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act last February. If the ACA is indeed axed as unconstitutional, health policy analysts say, millions of people could lose health coverage, and many aspects of Medicare and Medicaid would change dramatically. Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption
In 2015, demonstrators in Washington, D.C., urged Supreme Court justices to save the Affordable Care Act from a legal challenge. The federal health law survived, but last week U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled it invalid. An appeal of his controversial decision is underway. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption
The government has had to reassure Americans that the Friday ruling does not affect this year's open enrollment, including through HealthCare.gov, which ends Saturday. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
People who earn up to 400 percent of the poverty level (about $48,500 for an individual and $100,400 for a family of four in 2019) are eligible for subsidies of the cost of their marketplace health plans. But many of the 5 million who aren't eligible feel crushed by rising costs. Stuart Kinlough/Ikon Images/Getty Images hide caption
The deadline for signing up for individual health insurance coverage on HealthCare.gov ends Saturday, Dec. 15. Patrick Sison/AP hide caption