What is the ACA?
The ACA is the Affordable Care Act, a 2010 U.S. federal health-insurance law that created the Health Insurance Marketplace, made premium tax credits available to eligible households, and requires most plans to cover pre-existing conditions, according to HealthCare.gov (2026). Often called Obamacare, it was signed into law in 2010 and shapes which plans you can buy, what they must cover, and whether you qualify for financial help.
More on this topic: affordable care act
What the government has said, on the record
Here's how a federal official described it, on the record:
“For years, the financial, physical or mental health of millions of Americans suffered because they couldn't afford the care they or their family needed. But thanks to the health care law, all of that is changing. Today's launch begins a new day when health care coverage will be more accessible and affordable than ever before.”
— Kathleen Sebelius, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, HHS/CMS statement marking the opening of the Health Insurance Marketplace, 2013-10-01 (source)
Editor's note: From the HHS Secretary's statement on the day the Health Insurance Marketplace first opened (October 1, 2013), describing the law's aim of making coverage more accessible and affordable.
Also asked as
- What is the Affordable Care Act?
- What does ACA stand for?
- What is Obamacare?
Sources
Last verified: 2026-07-19