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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare by the American media, was enacted as a law by US President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Along with the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 , this law is the result of the congressional health reform program with a majority of the Democratic Party and the Obama administration.
The law requires most adults not covered by a health plan, whether provided by their employers or sponsored by the government, to maintain coverage, otherwise risking being fined. This type of requirement is commonly called an individual mandate. Those who earn below four times the poverty line ($92,200 a year for a family of four people) will receive tax credits in order to subsidize the payment of health insurance. Medicaid eligibility, the United States health program for low-income people, expands to include people earning up to 133% of the poverty line. However, as Medicaid is administered by each state, they may choose, individually, not to expand said program. The law affects certain aspects of the private health insurance industry and public health programs. It prohibits insurance companies from taking pre-existing conditions or gender into account, requiring them to grant coverage to all applicants and to offer the same rates regardless of their health status or gender. In addition, this law seeks to expand coverage to include 30 million uninsured Americans, thanks to its grants, the expansion of Medicaid and an anticipated increase in the number of health insurance underwritten under the so-called individual mandate. The Budget Office of the United States Congress projects that this law will reduce both future deficits and Medicare expenses.