Sixteen Years of the Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed on this day 16 years ago, enacting some of the most wide-ranging health care reforms in modern American history and bolstering coverage and protections for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Over its four-year rollout, the law instituted new consumer protections, closed gaps in coverage, expanded access for middle- and low-income consumers, and established the Health Insurance Marketplace. These changes contributed to a historic decline in the number of uninsured Americans, which fell from 45.2 million in 2013 to 26.4 million in 2022. In 2025, over 23 million people were enrolled in ACA coverage. ARTICLE