Affordable Care Act

(noun)

Also known as Obamacare, a United States federal statute signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010; represents the most significant overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system since 1965, and aims to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance, lower the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage, and reduce the costs of healthcare for individuals and the government.  

Related Terms

Examples of Affordable Care Act in the following topics:

  • The Affordable Care Act

    • In 2010, Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, initiating the first significant overhaul of the healthcare system since 1965.
    • After months of political wrangling and condemnations of the healthcare reform plan, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed and signed into law on March 23, 2010.
    • Discontent over the Affordable Care Act helped the Republicans capture the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections.
    • Hobby Lobby, the Court ruled that "closely-held" for-profit corporations could be exempt on religious grounds under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act from regulations adopted under the Affordable Care Act that would have required them to pay for insurance that covered certain contraceptives.
    • President Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010, as Vice President Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and others look on.

  • Divided Government

    • Discontent over Democratic President Obama's Affordable Care Act helped the Republicans capture the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections.
    • The Senate stripped the bill of the measures meant to delay the Affordable Care Act and passed it in revised form on September 27, 2013.
    • On October 1, 2013, many aspects of the Affordable Care Act implementation took effect, and the health insurance exchanges created by the Act launched as scheduled.
    • Much of the Affordable Care Act is funded by previously authorized and mandatory spending, rather than discretionary spending, and the presence or lack of a continuing resolution did not affect it.
    • Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the White House, March 23, 2010

  • The Obama Administration

    • As President, Barack Obama addressed a global financial crisis, legislated health care reform, and sharply reduced military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    • Once the economic stimulus bill was enacted, health care reform became Obama's top domestic priority.
    • Immediately following the bill's passage, the House voted in favor of a reconciliation measure to make significant changes and corrections to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed by both houses with two minor alterations on March 25, 2010, and signed into law on March 30, 2010.
    • On December 22, 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act.
    • Discuss Obama's policies regarding health care, foreign policy, and the economy.

  • The 2012 Presidential Election

    • The major policy issues at stake in the 2012 election included the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care reform, the ongoing economic condition, tax reform, women's rights, and American foreign policy.
    • Indeed, Romney himself revealed his disdain for people on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder when, at a fundraising event attended by affluent Republicans, he remarked that he did not care to reach the 47% of Americans who would always vote for Obama because of their dependence on government assistance.

  • Conclusion: Populism Resurgent

    • Barack Obama’s story resembled that of many Americans: a multicultural background, a single working mother, and care provided by maternal grandparents.
    • The goals of Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly known as "Obamacare") were to provide all Americans with access to affordable health insurance, to require that everyone in the United States had some form of health insurance, and to lower the costs of healthcare.

  • The Healthcare Plan of 1993

    • Bill Clinton had campaigned heavily on health care in the 1992 U.S. presidential election.
    • A major health care speech was delivered by President Clinton to the U.S.
    • The act listed funding to be allocated to the states for the administration of this plan, beginning at $13.5 billion in 1993 and reaching $38.3 billion in 2003.
    • The plan became more controversial due to the First Lady's participation in the secret proceedings of the Health Care Task Force, which led to litigation from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, and due to the Act's preponderance of red tape.
    • He asked the First Lady to chair the Task Force on National Health Care Reform.

  • American Indian Relocation

    • The resolution established that Congress would pass termination acts on a tribe by tribe basis.
    • Most such acts included the cessation of federal recognition and all the federal aid that came along with that designation.
    • For many this meant losing access to hospitals and health care.
    • Although, they were given private health care for six months, the only available care after that was if they happened to live near an Indian health care facility.
    • Congress was pushed to reform health care policy as it related to Indians.

  • The Great Society

    • Some of the programs were designed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice; others provided for federal involvement in education, medical care, environmental protection, and arts and culture.
    • the Food Stamp Act of 1964, which expanded the federal food stamp program;
    • The Social Security Act also created Medicaid, a program funding health care for low-income Americans.
    • In 1966, all welfare recipients began receiving medical care through Medicaid.
    • Clear Air, Water Quality and Clean Water Restoration Acts and Amendments

  • The Poor, the Homeless, and the Victims of AIDS

    • The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 was a predisposing factor in setting the stage for homelessness in the United States.
    • This law lowered the standards for involuntary commitment in civil courtrooms and was followed by significant de-funding of 1700 hospitals caring for mental patients.
    • Finally in 1987, President Reagan signed into law the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
    • The McKinney Act originally had fifteen programs providing a spectrum of services to homeless people, including the Continuum of Care Programs: the Supportive Housing Program, the Shelter Plus Care Program, and the Single Room Occupancy Program, as well as the Emergency Shelter Grant Program.
    • The pink triangle was originally used in Nazi concentration camps to identify those there for acts of homosexuality.

  • The Clinton Administration

    • The administration faced political opposition in 1994 when Republicans took control of both houses of Congress, but Clinton was reelected in 1996 after a failed attempt at health care reform.
    • This act received support from both political parties.
    • He also signed the reversal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which was designed to prevent financial institutions from getting too big to fail.
    • In addition, he signed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which legalized over-the-counter derivatives.
    • However, Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, considered by many to be a blow to the LGBT rights movement.