Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act, formally the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and commonly known as Obamacare, is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on 23 March 2010, described as the most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage in American healthcare since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. It required insurers to accept all applicants regardless of preexisting conditions, established health insurance marketplaces, provided premium subsidies for low income individuals, expanded Medicaid eligibility, and introduced delivery-system reforms aimed at controlling costs. By 2016, an estimated 20 to 24 million additional people had gained coverage, roughly halving the national uninsured rate, with the gain split about evenly between Medicaid expansion and individual-market changes.