The Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as PPACA or the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare) was a law passed by the 111th United States Congress by President Barack Obama in March of 2010. This federal statute provided rights and protections that provide health coverage as well as subsidies, through tax credits and cost-sharing reductions. The law also expanded components of Medicaid so that it covers Individuals that are considered low income. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission states “the ACA sought to increase the number of Americans with health insurance by providing new premium tax credits for the purchase of private health insurance and made several reforms to the private insurance market, such as eliminating preexisting condition exclusions and establishing annual limits on out-of-pocket costs.