Three years ago this Saturday, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama.  Since then, the law has both derisively and lovingly been re-named "ObamaCare".

Whatever we choose to call it - health reform, the ACA, ObamaCare - this groundbreaking law has already brought real and fundamental change to our health care system and given consumers (yes, you and me) protections against the worst of the health insurance industry's abuses.

In the last three years, the Affordable Care Act has meant:

• Children can longer be denied coverage based on a pre-existing condition
• No one can be denied coverage based on a lifetime or yearly "cap" of coverage
• Prevention services must be provided at no cost to consumers
• 12.8 million consumers and employers received $1.1 billion in rebates (yes, rebates) from insurance companies that are now required to spend no more than 20% of administrative costs or rebate the difference
• 3.1 million young adults under 26 years old have been able to stay on their parent's insurance and get the care they need while finishing their education or starting their working lives

And for millions, the best is yet to come on January 1, 2014, including:

• Adults can no longer be denied coverage based on a pre-existing condition - a change that could impact approximately 57 million non-elderly adults who have pre-existing conditions and would have  been at risk for insurance denials
• Small employers and individuals will be able to easily shop for and buy private insurance coverage through new health insurance marketplaces in each state
• Millions of moderate and middle-income Americans will get subsidies to help them afford health insurance coverage

I hope you'll read these amazing posts from our partner organizations through the country who are leading the charge to make the promise of the Affordable Care Act real for you.

Happy Birthday, Affordable Care Act!

 

Leigh Cobb, Advocates for Children and Youth
Affordable Health Coverage: A Good Thing for Maryland Children, Families

Cheasty Anderson, Texas Well & Healthy
ACA Turns Three!

Michele Stillwell-Parvensky, Children Defense Fund
Fulfilling the Promise of the Affordable Care Act in California

Lorraine Gonzalez-Camastra, Children Defense Fund
What’s in the Name – The Affordable Care Act?

Ashley Boyd, MomsRising.org
Tax Credits, Insurance Pools, Oh My!

Michelle Cunningham, MomsRising member
My Son is a Leukemia Survivor

Dawn Josephson, MomsRising member
Thanks to the ACA, Our Son is Fully Covered

Lisa Doyle, MomsRising member
Now a beautiful grown woman, but still my baby girl – with a pre-existing heart condition

Tracy Muñoz, MomsRising member
The Affordable Care Act Allows My Children to Invest in Their Future