HEALTHCARE »» REGULATION »» AFFORDABLE CARE ACT »» Feb 01, 2021

In 2010, we passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - also known as the ACA or Obamacare. This was the first major change to our healthcare system since 1965 and increased healthcare coverage to 94% of our population. Obamacare is credited with giving about 23 million Americans healthcare, reducing prices due to increased competition, and prohibiting the abuses allowed by previous HMO policies which included denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, lifetime caps on benefits, and charging women higher premiums than men. Before and after its enactment the ACA faced strong political opposition, calls for repeal, and legal challenges. Polls initially found that many Americans opposed the ACA, although by 2017, its provisions were generally accepted and the law gained popular support. This same year, the Trump administration came within a