The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) was signed into law in the United States by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Along with the proposed Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the Act is a product of the health care reform agenda of the Democratic 111th Congress and the Obama administration.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed the Senate on December 24, 2009, by a vote of 60–39 and passed the House of Representatives on March 21, 2010, by a vote of 219–212, with no Republicans in either house voting for the bill. At the time of the vote, there were four vacancies in the House.

The bill was originally drafted by the Senate as an alternative to the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which was passed by the House two months earlier on November 7. However, after the Democrats lost their supermajority in the Senate on January 19, 2010, the House decided to pass the Senate version and amend it with a third bill.