What is "Obamacare"?
Obamacare is a colloquial term used to describe the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This law was put into place to make it easier for people to purchase the health insurance they need. The Affordable Care Act mandates that health insurance companies are required to provide certain levels of coverage with every plan.
The first part of the comprehensive health care reform law enacted on March 23, 2010.
The law was amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act on March 30, 2010. The name “
” is usually used to refer to the final, amended version of the law. (It’s sometimes known as “PPACA,” “ACA,” or “Obamacare.”)
The law provides numerous rights and protections that make health coverage more fair and easy to understand, along with subsidies (through “premium tax credits” and “cost-sharing reductions”) to make it more affordable.