Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, usually known simply as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, became law on March 23, 2010. Its main goals are to make health insurance and health care more accessible, more efficient, and more affordable. Those most immediately affected are people not previously covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or private health insurance, but all Americans are expected to benefit from the reforms. The ACA contains 905 pages. This entry will summarize the law’s main highlights: the individual and group private insurance market reforms, including the exchanges, the individual and employer mandates, and the rulings on premiums and cost sharing; the expansion of Medicaid; and the measures suggested to improve the health care system. It examines those aspects of the ...