What is Obamacare?

What the government has said, on the record

Here's how a federal official described it, on the record:

“Health insurance exchanges like the Marketplace, whether public or private, are essentially free market distribution channels to allow issuers to compete on price, quality, and value.”

— Kevin Counihan, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Insurance Marketplace, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits, and Administrative Rules, 2015-02-26 (source)

Editor's note: From 2015 testimony by the Marketplace's first Chief Executive Officer, describing how the Health Insurance Marketplace works as a competitive exchange. Specific enrollment dates, plan counts, and premium figures change every year — always confirm current details on HealthCare.gov.