In March 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA for short) was passed by Congress and signed into United States law by President Obama. The law, commonly referred to as Health Care Reform (HCR) aims to ensure that affordable health care is available to all US citizens through a number of shared responsibility measures targeted at states, employers, insurance carriers, and citizens themselves. The individual shared responsibility provision expects all citizens to have essential health care coverage (known as minimum essential coverage) for each month, or qualify for an exemption, or face a financial penalty. Minimum essential coverage (MEC) includes government-sponsored plans like Medicaid, employer-sponsored plans, or plans in the private insurance market with or without assistance.
The individual responsibility requirement applies to individuals of all ages, including children. To help achieve this, the law includes the following:
Note: considerable flexibility is afforded to states to define the income levels used in determining eligibility.
The federal government has also provided deadlines to ensure they are satisfied in a timely and consistent manner. Enrollment opens October 2013 for coverage beginning January 2014, therefore states must provide citizens with access to each of the options above through a Health Insurance Exchange, an online marketplace that allows citizens to see options from insurance carriers to make an informed choice on health care coverage.