Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(PPACA)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA),commonly called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or "Obamacare", is a US Federal Statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010

The Affordable Care Act  was signed into law to reform the health care industry by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010 and upheld by the supreme court on On June 28, 2012

Together with the Health Care & Education Reconciliation Act it represents the most significant regulatory overhaul of the country's health care system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) 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

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes numerous provisions that take effect between 2010 and 2020.Significant reforms, most of which take effect by January 1, 2014, include -
Guaranteed Issue -prohibits insurers from denying coverage to individuals
Minimum Standards for Health Insurance Policies
Individual Mandate
Health Insurance Exchanges
Federal Subsidies
Medicaid eligibility expanded

The term "Obamacare" was originally coined by opponents, notably Mitt Romney in 2007, as a pejorative term.The word was first uttered in a political campaign by Mitt Romney in May 2007 in Des Moines,Iowa

Mitt Romney said,'' In my state,I worked on healthcare for some time.We had half a million people without insurance, and I said, 'How can we get those people insured without raising taxes and without having government take over healthcare?'. And let me tell you, if we don't do it, the Democrats will. If the Democrats do it, it will be socialized medicine; it'll be government-managed care. It'll be what's known as Hillarycare or Barack Obamacare, or whatever you want to call it."

The aim of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(PPACA) is to give more Americans access to affordable, quality health insurance and to reduce the growth in health care spending in the U.S
It does not replace private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. If you have health coverage you like, you can keep it
It doesn't regulate health care but regulates health insurance and some of the worst practices of the for-profit health care industry.
About 15% of Americans are uninsured, which is a little less than 50 million men, women and children.The primary reasons for Americans being uninsured are cost and job loss



''Obamacare'' Enrollment Gets 6-Weeks Extension Monday Oct 28,2013

With website woes ongoing, the Obama administration Monday Oct 28,2013 granted a six-week extension until March 31 for Americans to sign up for coverage next year and avoid new tax penalties under the president's health care overhaul law.
Under the latest policy change, people who sign up by the end of open enrollment season March 31 will not face a penalty
Previously you had to sign up by the middle of February, guaranteeing that your coverage would take effect March 1, in order to avoid fines for being uninsured.
The extension — granted for 2014 only — addresses confusion that was created when the administration set the first open enrollment period under the law from Oct. 1-March 31,2014