Final answer:
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare, is a healthcare reform law enacted in 2010 to expand health insurance coverage, regulate the insurance industry, and reduce healthcare costs. It introduced health insurance exchanges and the individual mandate. Despite legal challenges, the Supreme Court upheld most of the ACA as constitutional.
Step-by-step explanation:
The healthcare law being referred to is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. Passed in 2010, this landmark legislation aimed to expand access to health insurance, impose new regulations on insurance companies, and reduce healthcare costs. The ACA included provisions that created health insurance exchanges, expanded Medicaid eligibility, and introduced the individual mandate, which required most Americans to have health insurance or face a penalty. This public law faced both support and opposition, with some viewing it as a crucial step towards a more equitable healthcare system, and others criticizing it as an overreach of government power. While it has undergone several legal challenges, the Supreme Court has upheld most of the ACA. Notably, in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court affirmed its constitutionality, recognizing Congress's taxing power as a foundation for the individual mandate.