On March 23, 2010, Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often called the ACA or Obamacare.
The law expanded Medicaid in participating states, created health insurance marketplaces, let young adults stay on a parent’s plan until age 26, and barred insurers from denying coverage for preexisting conditions.
A Long Debate
The bill passed Congress without Republican votes and remained politically divisive for years. The Supreme Court upheld key parts of the law in 2012 and in later cases.
Did You Know
The number of Americans without health insurance fell significantly in the years after the law’s major provisions took effect in 2014.
Learn More
For primary sources, explore the Obama White House archives maintained by the National Archives, the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, and presidential history collections at your local library. Reading accounts from supporters and critics alike gives the fullest picture of any presidency.
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