Obamacare Is Here!

Big day for the president's signature healthcare law. Starting today, many Americans will be able to apply for affordable insurance for healthcare and the insurers can't deny a person insurance based on pre-existing conditions.

The Affordable Healthcare and Patient Protection Act (AHPPA or ACA) or Obamacare was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. The law is a groundbreaking milestone. It prevents Americans from being dropped from insurance and requires millions of uninsured Americans to have at least coverage for medical bills. The cost of rising coverage for people who have emergency room visits is skyrocketing.

You can visit Healthcare.gov for the Health Insurance Marketplace. Please note that due to the government shutdown and possible high traffic, it may take a moment to apply for the enrollment.

The 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. It provides a number of mechanisms—including mandates, subsidies, and insurance exchanges—to increase coverage and affordability.

It's the law.

The law also requires insurance companies to cover all applicants within new minimum standards and offer the same rates regardless of pre-existing conditions or sex.

Additional reforms aim to reduce costs and improve healthcare outcomes by shifting the system towards quality over quantity through increased competition, regulation, and incentives to streamline the delivery of healthcare. The Congressional Budget Office projected that the ACA will lower both future deficits and Medicare spending.

In 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the ACA in the case National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. However, the Court held that states cannot be forced to participate in the ACA's Medicaid expansion under penalty of losing their current Medicaid funding.

Since the ruling, the law and its implementation have continued to face challenges in Congress, in federal courts, and from some state governments.

Yeah, Vice President Joe Biden: This is a big "f**king deal!






Some of the photos were during the healthcare debate. The president and vice president celebrating the passage of the law. The Democrats walking in unison towards the U.S. Capitol. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) at the repeal Obamacare rally. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) talks to the press during a rally to protest the vote. Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio) when he was then the Minority Leader made the "Hell No You Can't" speech in the final hours of the vote.