Health Reform

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. Included in the historic law are comprehensive prevention provisions consistent with those called for by APHA in its health reform agenda and supported by other leading experts in population health and prevention. The enactment of the Affordable Care Act begins to shift our health system from one that focuses on treating the sick to one that focuses on keeping people healthy. The June 2012 Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act allows for the long-overdue changes made possible by the law to move forward without question or further delay.

APHA has been at the forefront of promoting and protecting the critical public health provisions in the ACA. APHA has also been a leader in providing information and public education on the essential work the ACA and its Prevention Fund is doing in states and communities across the country.

Highlighted APHA resources:  

• (NEW!) Presentation slides: The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on State and Local Public Health Systems
• The New Public Health: Rewiring for the Future — Insight and Inspiration from APHA’s 2012 Midyear Meeting
• At-a-glance charts providing an overview of the ACA and the problems with our system the ACA is addressing;
• Issue briefs and fact sheets on the Prevention and Public Health Fund, prevention provisions in the ACA, and the public health workforce provisions in the ACA;
• A webinar, co-sponsored by APHA and other public health organizations, on the Supreme Court's decision and its implications for public health and prevention; and
• A summary of the public health and prevention provisions in the ACA, and a timeline of the implementation of ACA public health and prevention provisions.

Other key resources:
In January 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services released a number of new resources to help educate the public about the Health Insurance Marketplaces (also known as exchanges) coming soon. This brief video explaining the Marketplaces is a great tool; so is this toolkit of brochures in multiple languages, and this sample powerpoint. For more resources you can use to educate the public about health reform, visit APHA’s ACA Basics page.

In March 2013, HHS released additional resources, including a new consumer education video, a video celebrating the ACA's third anniversary, and newly updated state-by-state fact sheets.

New APHA web content:
In addition, APHA has recently updated the health reform webpages in this section with new content and resources. Each page now features answers to frequently asked questions, links to APHA fact sheets and other resources, and links to other useful websites and resources. 

A guide to the new content:

• ACA Basics: reviews the fundamentals of the reform law and links to new APHA webpages with more information about the Medicaid expansion, insurance exchanges, and minimum coverage provision (“individual mandate”).
• ACA Implementation: discusses the ACA implementation timeline, the federal rule making process, and state implementation progress.
• Prevention and Public Health Fund: supplies the facts about the ACA’s major prevention funding program as well as research on the importance of prevention funding.
• Supreme Court Decision: breaks down the complex ruling and answers questions about its potential implications.
• ACA Advocacy: reviews APHA actions to protect and promote the Affordable Care Act.
• Useful Links: goes beyond the topic-specific resources provided on the pages above, to compile a list of general ACA websites and resources.

The full text of the law, as well as section-by-section summaries, can be found here.

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APHA is continuing to update its health reform website and resources. Please check back as we add new content.

Questions and comments are welcome: email us.
(Note: Please see the pages listed above for answers to frequently asked questions. For information about personal or family insurance coverage or costs, visit the official health reform website healthcare.gov.)