Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Family Resource Brief
In March 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Here you will find resources to answer your questions about this historic national health reform law and enroll and learn more about the ACA and how it will affect you and your family and people in your state.
Get answers and enroll
- HealthCare.gov:
Contact Us. Get answers to your
questions about your health coverage options
under the ACA. Telephone: (800) 318-2596; (855) 889-4325 (TTY) or chat
online. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English and Spanish.
Find Local Help. Find organizations in your area with people trained and certified to help you understand your health coverage options and enroll in a plan.
Use the glossary with basic definitions for over 100 insurance terms to help inform your search for health coverage.
- For more help with finding health insurance and health care, see Health Insurance and Access to Care for Kids and Teens.
Learn more
- HealthCare.gov.
Information in English and Spanish about your health insurance coverage options
under the ACA.
Find answers to your questions about the ACA and coverage for essential health benefits; costs; and pre-existing conditions; coverage for young adults, small business owners, and those who are self-employed, are uninsured, or work part-time; and consumer rights and protections. A glossary gives basic definitions for over 100 insurance terms.
Use the Health Insurance Marketplace to apply for health insurance, compare plans, and enroll.
- HHS.gov: HealthCare. Information about the ACA and the Health Insurance Marketplace. Learn how the ACA is helping people in
your state.
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The Affordable Care Act: What Your Family
Needs to Know. Information in English and Spanish about the
ACA's benefits, protections, and requirements, and the Health Insurance
Marketplace
in
each state. Links
to additional resources about health coverage.
- Commonwealth Fund: Health Reform and You. A set of brief publications about how health reform will affect you, your family, and your doctors.
- Consumer Reports: Health Law Helper. Answer a series of questions to learn how the ACA affects you and your family. Available in English and Spanish.
- Family Voices: National Center for Family Professional Partnerships (NCFPP): Affordable Care Act (ACA). Information about the ACA's impact on children and adolescents with special health care needs and their families.
- Kaiser Family Foundation: Understanding Health Reform. Information and tools in English and Spanish about the ACA. Includes a calculator for estimating your
health insurance subsidy in the Health Insurance Marketplace, fact sheets about how the ACA affects different groups of people, answers to
frequently asked questions, flowchart about
how to get health coverage, and more. View the video clip YouToons
Get Ready for Obamacare: Health Insurance Changes Coming Your Way Under
the Affordable Care Act | Los YouToons Se Preparan Para Obamacare (2013).
Learn more about health insurance and access to care for kids and teens.
Need more information? Use the collection of resources that library staff have put together for you and your family.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): Family Resource Brief. (August 2013). (Updated July 2014).
This resource brief was developed by the University of Miami Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND), the University of South Florida College of Public Health MCH Leadership Training Program, the University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center (PPC) Leadership Training Program, and the MCH Digital Library at Georgetown University, all of which are funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
Authors: Rochelle Baer, L.C.S.W., University of Miami Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND); Ellen K. Bowser, M.S., R.D., L.D./N, R.N., University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center Leadership Training Program; Cara de la Cruz, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of South Florida College of Public Health MCH Leadership Training Program; Susan Horky, M.S.W, L.C.S.W., University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center Leadership Training Program; Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Digital Library; Jennifer Marshall, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of South Florida College of Public Health MCH Leadership Training Program; Angela Miney, B.A., University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center Leadership Training Program; Anthony Panzera, M.P.H., University of South Florida College of Public Health MCH Leadership Training Program; Michelle Schladant, Ph.D., University of Miami Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND), Maria Toro, B.A., University of Miami Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND).
Contributor: Tracy Lopez, M.S.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Reviewer: Olivia K. Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Digital Library.