Democrats gained the political muscle to push the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through Congress on three basic arguments. First, they argued that the United States had too many uninsured people, with estimates ranging from 30 million to 45 million. Second, the rise in costs for health care outstripped inflation, and the market required an intervention that would bend the cost curve downward. Third, Democrats claimed that insurance companies made too much profit and shorted most consumers on care, while those with generous health plans - so-called "Cadillac plans" - drove up utilization rates and costs for everyone else.