LAUSR

Introduction The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare (after President Barack Obama, who signed it into law in March 2010), was implemented in October 2013. Three years later, it continues to be the subject of intense debates driven by politics rather than objective data. Public opinion is largely influenced by news media, and in turn influences future legislation. Some ideologically affiliated news networks set agendas around important topics (eg, the ACA) in effective, relentless coverage that influences public opinion. Therefore, it is important to provide regular objective updates of the ACA to Americans, the primary targets and beneficiaries. Learning from the ACA experience and analyzing unforeseen consequences allows for the implementation of needed corrective measures. Herein, the benefits of the ACA are reviewed, and strategies to improve it are discussed.